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Nov 5, 2020 at 7:40 AMIn Germany, bridges and roads are deteriorating as the responsible municipalities struggle with tight budgets. The investment backlog has accumulated to almost 140 billion euros in recent years. In Hesse, more than one billion euros will be invested in transportation infrastructure.
(Braunschweig) – Drivers of cars and trucks can now hope for better roads in Hesse. A record sum of over one billion euros is to be invested this year in the maintenance and expansion of roads and bridges. “Mobility requires an intact infrastructure,” explains Transport Minister Tarek Al-Wazir. However, for years and decades, too little has been invested in the existing road networks in the state.
Before things get better, numerous construction sites will demand a lot of patience from drivers.
Federal and State Contributions
“We are catching up,” says Al-Wazir. However, road users will need to be very patient this year due to the large number of construction projects. “Because when construction is underway, it inevitably leads to disruptions caused by the construction sites.”
The majority of the funds will come from the federal government, the minister explained. Hesse will contribute around 132 million euros in state funds. In total, road construction projects with a length of 315 kilometers are to be completed this year with the financial resources. Never before has so much money flowed into transportation projects in the state, Al-Wazir calculates in connection with the planned investment sum of 1.002 billion euros. The principle will continue to be to invest primarily in the maintenance of the existing road infrastructure rather than in new construction.
Many Roads in Poor Condition
Among the larger projects is the ongoing construction of the Marbach Viaduct, which is part of the A45 motorway in Central Hesse. The entire project is expected to be completed by the end of the year. The Wiesbaden interchange with the A3 and A66 motorways is also undergoing further renovation, with the construction site expected to be completed by the end of May. The most expensive project at the moment is the new construction of the A44 in Northern Hesse from Kassel to Herleshausen – more than 200 million euros are to be allocated for this project this year. In total, the nearly 70 kilometers of motorway will cost more than two billion euros.
In addition to construction projects on federal motorways, projects on numerous federal roads in the state are also to be financed from federal funds, promised the Green politician. “For this year, investments in Hesse’s federal roads amount to 231 million euros. That is about 48 million more than in 2019.” Projects with a total length of about 183 kilometers on state roads are to be completed this year. “We have a lot of catching up to do here,” the minister notes. About one-fifth of the state roads were already in very poor condition five years ago. “It is all the more important that we continue to work on renovating the existing roads now.” According to the traffic authority Hessen Mobil, the condition of state roads is checked every four years. This year, such an inspection is again due.
In 2019, around 955 million euros were invested in road construction projects in Hesse. The state’s share was just under 124 million euros. In total, projects with a length of around 272 kilometers of road were completed in Hesse.
Rail Network Also Dilapidated
At the same time, many bridges in the German rail network are dilapidated. The railway plans to renovate 2,000 of them in the next ten years. For this purpose, the company is now planning to invest significantly more money than before. About nine billion euros are to be invested during this period, as a railway spokesperson confirmed after the Funke media group reported on the planned figures.
In the first five years from 2020 to 2024, four billion euros are to be invested in bridge infrastructure, and in the second five years from 2025 to 2029, five billion euros. This is significantly more than in previous years, the spokesperson said.
From 2015 to the end of 2019, more than 900 bridges were renewed for three billion euros. Thus, the railway slightly exceeded its own target of renovating 875 bridges.
Image: © Deutschlandfunk
