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New construction of the Carola Bridge: Dispute breaks out over four lanes in Dresden!
In the dispute over the new construction of the Carola Bridge in Dresden, the building committee votes for four lanes. City council decision on Thursday.
New construction of the Carola Bridge: Dispute breaks out over four lanes in Dresden!
The discussion about the new construction of the Carola Bridge in Dresden continues to gain momentum. Yesterday, Monday, the building committee voted 7 to 5 in favor of building four lanes. The City Council is expected to make a final decision on Thursday. Picture reports that demolition work on the collapsed bridge that collapsed on September 11th last year is progressing quickly. The bridge structures that originally remained standing will be removed to make room for the new structure.
The issue is polarizing: CDU, AfD, Team Zastrow, FDP and BSW are calling for a new four-lane building, while the Greens and SPD are critical and are only calling for two to three lanes. This demand is based on traffic forecasts that predict a maximum of 30,500 vehicles per day for the new bridge. A traffic count in 2022 showed that 31,300 vehicles crossed the old bridge per day.
modal shift
The effects of the bridge demolition on traffic in Dresden are already noticeable. A working group consisting of DVB, urban planning and road construction has determined that vehicle traffic has shifted significantly to the Albert and Marien Bridges. While vehicle traffic on the Albert Bridge has increased by an impressive 88%, the Marien Bridge has seen an increase of 30%. This has also led to an increase in the average travel time on north-south connections by around four minutes. In addition, trams are seeing reduced punctuality, particularly on the routes over the Albert and Marien Bridges.
The shift in traffic has also affected cycling. Over 9,000 cyclists use the Augustus Bridge every day, which corresponds to an increase of 45%. The Albert Bridge has developed into an important alternative route for cyclists. This is where monitoring of traffic flows comes into play, which should be continued in order to improve the traffic situation Dresden weekly paper.
Challenges and future
The new bridge will be designed to be around 39 meters wide; the old bridge was only 32 meters. However, the start of construction could now be postponed from 2027 to 2028, which would not result in completion until 2031. The left-wing faction leader André Schollbach is critical of the new four-lane construction and emphasizes that the left does not want to commit to a number of lanes at the moment.
The bridge and the entire transport infrastructure are crucial for economic growth. Germany has the largest transport infrastructure in Europe, but renovation and expansion are more necessary than ever. The federal government's investments in road transport will amount to around 8.47 billion euros for 2023, which underlines the importance of a well-functioning infrastructure Statista.
The upcoming decision in the city council will show whether Dresden will opt for a future-oriented transport approach or whether it will continue to have to live with the challenges of an overloaded transport network.