The list of dilapidated bridges in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) is long, prompting the local Ministry of Transport to launch a renovation campaign. However, the logistics industry fears rising costs and longer journey times due to increasing lorry transport bans.
The NRW Ministry of Transport lists almost 1,000 dilapidated bridges. Additionally, several Rhine bridges have weight limits for lorries, forcing drivers to take increasingly long detours. Further restrictions have now been introduced for lorry traffic on the Rhine bridges, raising concerns within the logistics industry about the impact on road freight transport.
The situation is particularly problematic in the greater Düsseldorf/Neuss area. The Fleher Rhine Bridge, part of the A46 motorway between the Neuss-Uedesheim and Düsseldorf-Bilk junctions, is under strain due to years of detours caused by the closure of the Leverkusen Bridge.
A driving ban for vehicles over 7.5 tonnes has also been introduced on the Josef-Kardinal-Frings Bridge between Neuss and Düsseldorf-Süd, starting Friday, 11 October. HGV traffic will now have to take a lengthy detour around the bridge. Meanwhile, vehicles under 7.5 tonnes will still be limited to one lane in each direction until the planned end of renovations in late 2024. Additionally, the maximum speed will be reduced to 30 kilometres per hour (km/h).
“This increases the pressure on other bridges, and we quickly have a domino effect,” said Marcus Hover, Deputy Managing Director of the North Rhine-Westphalia Transport and Logistics Association, speaking to dpa.
New restrictions also near Duisburg
According to dpa, heavy goods vehicles weighing 48 tonnes or more are no longer allowed to cross the ‘Berlin Bridge’ on the A59 in Duisburg, an important link to the port of Duisburg for road freight traffic.
“The latest special inspection showed that the damage found limits the bridge’s load-bearing capacity,” authorities stated.
As a result, the A59 between the Duisburg-Meiderich junction and the Duisburg motorway junction has been closed to heavy vehicles requiring a permit. However, the bridge remains open to standard lorries and cars.
Additional costs due to longer journeys
These passage bans mean higher costs for logistics companies due to longer journey times and increased fuel consumption, costs which cannot be passed on to customers with long-term contracts. Moreover, transport companies have faced a higher lorry toll since December.
The logistics association is calling for the federal government’s toll revenues to be entirely reinvested in infrastructure and for a significant increase in funding for all transport modes.
“We are now noticing that the infrastructure is crumbling at every turn,” Hover is quoted as saying by dpa.
Mammoth project to solve the problem
The NRW Ministry of Transport has acknowledged the issue and launched a renovation campaign. The aim is to fix the problems on around 400 bridges within ten years. Autobahn GmbH has also planned several construction measures.
“Refurbishment is our priority,” said North Rhine-Westphalia’s Transport Minister, Oliver Krischer.
According to the state government of North Rhine-Westphalia, it will invest ‘more than ever before’ in maintaining and renovating the state’s road infrastructure (including bridges and roads) this year, with around 220 million euros allocated and 151 major projects already planned. The Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (BMDV) is providing an additional 138 million euros for federal road maintenance, according to the North Rhine-Westphalia Road Construction Authority.
“Now it’s time for implementation, and we are stepping up the pace with new and faster modular construction methods for bridges,” stated the NRW state government in an update.
Since November 2023, three new replacement construction projects have been completed on state and federal roads, and 34 bridges are either under construction or have been commissioned, the NRW government reported at the beginning of September.