Berlin reaches through: faster new buildings for dilapidated bridges!

Berlin reaches through: faster new buildings for dilapidated bridges!

In Berlin, dilapidated bridges will be replaced faster by new buildings in the future. This announced the administration of traffic senator Ute Bonde (CDU). The planning should be made more efficient by simplifying and reducing the test steps. In the future, only an examination and recognition of the preliminary planning phase by the responsible testing authority will be necessary, while two exams were previously necessary. This measure is intended to enable a significant acceleration of one to two years in the planning and estimation phase.

The regulations that the main committee of the House of Representatives has decided are initially limited to five years. So far, the testing times of the planning documents have been scheduled for nine months, which is now reduced to a month. Traffic senator Bonde illustrated the pressure to act when bridges, especially after demolishing several bridges in the city, which underlines the need to accelerate new buildings.

nationwide planning acceleration

Developments in Berlin are in line with the recent decisions of the Bundestag. On October 20, 2023, Parliament passed a law on planning acceleration in the traffic sector. Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) expressed a positive statement about this decision, which aims at quick planning and construction projects for bridges, rails and roads. The draft law is the result of lengthy negotiations within the traffic light coalition of the SPD, Greens and FDP, which had agreed in the coalition agreement on the acceleration of the planning and construction phases.

A central element of the law is the introduction of a label "of outstanding public interest", which is assigned to urgent project. This label is connected to shortened processes and faster construction work. While the coalition parties emphasize the need for these measures, they also react criticism from the opposition. CDU and AfD accuse the government that the procedure has not been sufficiently open to change applications, which leads to a reduction in democracy. In addition, it is questioned to what extent the various interests- especially between road and rail projects- are treated equally.

public reactions and outlook

The green politician Susanne Menge also emphasized the need for better substance, while the FDP underlined the importance of well -developed infrastructure for growth and development. Critics argue that the construction of new motorways sends a fatal signal for climate protection.

Overall, the new law comprises various changes in several laws, including the Federal Higher State Act and the General Railway Act. It also provides for a four-year period for approval processes based on EU Directive 2021/1187. It remains to be seen how these measures will have an effect in practice and whether the desired acceleration process will actually apply in the coming years.