Haslach (dpa/lsw) – According to Transport Minister Winfried Hermann, there should be a tunnel control center in the southwest by the end of 2025. “This will further increase traffic safety in our road tunnels,” said the Greens politician on Wednesday in Haslach (Ortenaukreis).

Since the beginning of the year, the country has been legally obliged to set up a tunnel control center. It will be part of the planned traffic management center, said Hermann’s ministry.

In the future, around 48 tunnels will be monitored with this state-run center. “The tunnel control center represents the most important part of the security chain,” said Hermann.

Employees from the local road maintenance department explained to Hermann in Haslach how the Reutherberg and Sommerberg road tunnels and the Hornberg and Oberkirch tunnels are being monitored. So far, tunnels in the southwest have been monitored primarily in a decentralized manner, for example by district offices, as the ministry reported.