New temporary bridge at Damaschkeplatz: traffic in Magdeburg will soon be free again!

New temporary bridge at Damaschkeplatz: traffic in Magdeburg will soon be free again!

There's a lot going on in Magdeburg right now, because the construction site at Damaschkeplatz is keeping the city in suspense. What may seem like an ordinary skirmish to passers-by has a massive impact on traffic flows and daily mobility. The demolition of the dilapidated ring bridge, which was carried out on the night of June 19th, brought a catastrophe for local traffic. The bridge had been closed since mid-April due to significant damage, as MDR reported. All of this didn't happen without reason; An in-depth inspection on April 14th revealed massive damage, so repairs were simply impossible.

Construction work on the new temporary bridge began at the beginning of the week and is expected to be completed by the end of July. With a cost calculation of almost six million euros, Systec GmbH from Parey on the Elbe was commissioned with the construction. The temporary bridge was originally supposed to be ready by August 11th, but the city is now targeting July 31st as the new target date. A total of eight bridge sections are necessary to create two single-lane roadways with a total length of 72 meters. It remains to be hoped that the temporary bridge will be passable by the summer holidays in order to reopen the highly frequented traffic artery.

Harmful for city traffic

The effects of the closure on the city center should not be underestimated. The city administration has already initiated diversions that primarily affect slow-moving road users. Pedestrians and cyclists can look forward to a new diversion at Damaschkeplatz, which finally offers an alternative. Unfortunately, the tram lines had to be rerouted, which temporarily leaves out the Hauptbahnhof/Kölner Platz stop, as reported by mz.de. To make matters even more complicated, the lockdown imposes restrictions on emergency services, which ultimately requires new measures: an additional ambulance will be stationed in the area so that help can be provided quickly and smoothly.

But the situation also forces discussion. The parliamentary group leader of the Garden Party, Roland Zander, has already initiated a debate in the city council to promote more cooperation between administration and politics. There are also urgently needed deeper tests on other bridges so that the condition does not deteriorate further. All in all, this change is causing quite a stir: costs for the bridge system are expected to be around ten million euros, and the entire renovation program could cost between 100 and 150 million euros, as bmv.de states.

A look into the future

The city of Magdeburg, in collaboration with the Ministry of Infrastructure and the State Road Construction Authority, has initiated further bridge inspections to ensure that no serious defects occur. Overall, attention is drawn to the importance of bridges in Germany, where there are around 40,300 bridges in the federal highway network, many of them from a period between 1960 and 1985. Modernization measures are urgently needed to make the infrastructure fit for the future and to increase its load-bearing capacity, as can be seen from the current bridge modernization program.

The coming weeks will be crucial. If everything goes according to plan, the temporary bridge could be completed on time and traffic in the city center could be reopened quickly.