Duisburg.
The Rhine bridge between Duisburg and Krefeld has to be demolished. Soon there will be restrictions for car and truck drivers on the B288.
The dilapidated Rhine bridge between Duisburg-Mündelheim and Krefeld-Uerdingen can no longer be saved and is to be demolished. A new construction of the Uerdinger Rheinbrücke is required. Strassen NRW announced this on Tuesday. The state company explains the decision with the results of a “current bridge recalculation and material test”. Car and truck drivers will be faced with traffic obstructions on the B288 in the south of Duisburg in the coming weeks.
“Due to the recalculation results, permanent continued use of the Krefeld Rhine bridge is not possible,” said Christoph Jansen, regional manager at Strassen NRW. “We know how much the Uerdinger citizens care about the bridge and regret that this step is necessary.” But the safety of all road users is “the top priority”, says Jansen.
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According to the state company, material samples have shown that the steel used at the time the listed bridge was built “is of a lower quality than expected”. The Uerdinger Bridge was built between 1933 and 1936.
Rheinbrücke B288: These measures will take effect in spring 2023
There is no timetable for demolition and new construction. Strassen NRW wants to report more details at a press conference on Wednesday.
Traffic on the old Rhine bridge has recently increased rapidly: according to a count last year, an average of 22,200 vehicles cross the Rhine from Duisburg to Krefeld or vice versa. Heavy goods traffic accounts for 2,400 trucks per day.
In order to make the dilapidated and increasingly frequented Rhine crossing roadworthy again, several options were recently examined. These ranged from an extension of the bridge to an extension including an additional new building next door and keeping the old bridge only for cyclists and pedestrians with a new building for motor vehicles to demolition and a complete new building. So it will come now.
But before that, in the spring, “compensatory measures will be taken to relieve the strain on the bridge until the final new construction,” announces Straßen NRW.
- Accordingly, the Speed limited to 50 km/h become.
- In addition, become a distance requirement
- and a No passing
- as well as one Reduction of the permissible total weight for vehicles 30 tons introduced.
- The Multipurpose strip will be cordoned off.
- Streets NRW also creates a diversion concept.
- Die Diversion for heavy traffic takes place via the A 44 – via the Düsseldorf-Ilverich airport bridge.
In addition, the inspection of the Rhine bridge, which is carried out every six months, is extended to certain areas of the steel structure in order to register even the smallest changes quickly and comprehensively. The bridge is still open to agricultural traffic.
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Roads in North Rhine-Westphalia: It is not necessary to close the Rhine bridge
“We are fortunate that there is no need to close the bridge. If it is relieved of weight and at the same time we reduce the load on the structure by reducing the speed, there is no danger,” emphasizes regional manager Jansen. The measures served to preserve the structure for as long as possible and to be able to plan the new construction of the bridge with the necessary care.
- The Rhine bridge crosses the Rhine at Rhine kilometer 764.
- Overall, the building consists of four substructures with a total length of approx 858 meters.
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