200,000 vehicles per day give the Heumar motorway triangle in the southeast of Cologne a top position in Europe. Bridges also have to be renewed at this complicated junction. The weekend lockdown is part of a really big project.
Cologne (dpa / lnw) – At the Heumar motorway junction in the south of Cologne, extensive renovation work will begin this weekend. From Friday evening, November 11th, until Monday morning, November 14th, Autobahn 3 will be completely closed in the direction of Frankfurt at the level of the ramp to the A4 Cologne-Aachen. This was announced by Deges, the German unit for long-distance road planning and construction GmbH, in Düsseldorf. The other direction of the A3 in the direction of Oberhausen will also be closed – but only briefly from Saturday evening to Sunday morning.
A diversion has been set up: the blockage will be bypassed via Autobahn 4. The vehicles are guided to the Gremberg motorway junction, drive in a loop and return to the A3 via the opposite lane.
With around 200,000 vehicles a day, the Heumar motorway triangle is one of the busiest motorway junctions in Europe. Eleven bridges are dilapidated, unable to cope with the increasing traffic and need to be replaced. The A4, A3 and A59 motorways come together at Heumar. It is a hub between East and West and North and South. Commuters and heavy goods vehicles use this route.
During the weekend closure, preparations are being made to divert traffic to a new bridge. From November 14th, cars will be directed in both directions over the A3 carriageway in the direction of Oberhausen so that the second section of the bridge can be built.
The conversion of the traffic junction will take years. The complex traffic routing with many ups and downs and bridges is also to be unraveled and reorganized. The construction work will take place during ongoing operations. “Interventions in the flow of traffic and hindrances to passenger and commercial traffic are kept as low as possible,” explained Deges. The completion of the whole project is scheduled for 2030. According to estimates, 240,000 vehicles will then be on the road at the Autobahn triangle every day.
