Rahmede-Talbrücke: Record construction with 500 million euros for Lüdenscheid!

Rahmede-Talbrücke: Record construction with 500 million euros for Lüdenscheid!

Rahmede, Deutschland - The Rahmede Tal Bridge, a central component of the A45 in North Rhine-Westphalia, remains closed due to severe corrosion and tears. Loud Remszeitung Before the closure, over 60,000 vehicles rolled over this bridge every day. The bridge was blown up in May 2023 and the event was broadcast by livestream. The urgent need for action is evident: Germany has an estimated 12,000 ailing bridges in a similar condition, many of them from the 1960s.

In order to counter this challenge, the federal government is planning massive investments of 500 billion euros in the renovation of the infrastructure. The new Rahmede Tal Bridge is to be completed by 2027, and a partial release of the lanes is already planned for spring 2026. The construction of the bridge is implemented in a remarkably short period of four years, compared to the often much longer renovation times of five to 18 years that were common in the past.

current construction progress

The construction work for the new valley bridge started in October 2023. The Habau Hoch- und Tiefbaugesellschaft M.B.H., Bickhardt Bau SE and MCE GmbH, which work on behalf of Autobahn GmbH, are involved in this major project. A significant progress, the so -called "steel wedding", was reached at the end of February 2025 when the steel stretcher of the first directional lane were connected. This gap could be closed 16 months after the start of construction Deutschland/" Class = "Source_2"> reported

The bridge will have a length of 453 meters and is currently in the phase of the concrete construction work for four pillar pairs with a height of up to 70 meters. The abutments have already been completed and the foundations and pillars are sealed with bored piles. The close cooperation within the HABAU Group optimizes the construction processes and technical solutions in order to progress efficiently.

economic effects and challenges

Despite the quick progress, the region is severely affected by the bridge closure. Lüdenscheid suffers from estimated economic damage of 1 million euros per day. Mayor Sebastian Wagemeyer emphasized the urgency of the project in view of the economic consequences So the Remszeitung .

While the Rahmede Tal Bridge is considered a showcase project for the faster implementation of infrastructure measures, the future efficiency of construction projects in Germany remains questionable. The Federal Audit Office has criticized the fact that the modernization of ailing bridges lags behind. This is partly due to the complex bureaucratic processes and lengthy approval procedures that identify experts as the main problems. Demands for structural reforms become louder to improve the planning and implementation of construction projects.

In international comparison, German infrastructure projects are slower, which means that in other countries it is possible to build or renew bridges in a significantly shorter time reports the Tagesschau . In this context, it remains to be seen whether the progress in the Rahmede Tal Bridge can help counteract the ongoing infrastructure crisis in Germany.