Gelnhausen (dpa/lhe) – For the planned four-track expansion of the railway line between Hanau and Gelnhausen, more than 20 bridges along the line have to be rebuilt and mostly completely renewed. While traffic is running, work is currently progressing to widen the motorway bridge on the A66 near Gelnhausen. In future, four instead of two tracks will have to fit under the bridge. Adjacent to this, an economic bridge for agricultural and bicycle traffic as well as pedestrians is being built, as Marcel Lang, the sub-project manager responsible for the bridges, explained on Wednesday during a visit to the construction site.
The work that started in September last year is right on schedule, said Lang. The new motorway bridge will be built in two sections: First, the two lanes in the direction of Fulda will be rebuilt, this work should be completed in the first quarter of 2023. All four lanes will then be moved to the new structure in order to be able to begin the second part of the new building in the direction of Hanau. The construction of the new motorway bridge is expected to be completed in early 2024. Completion of the new economic bridge is already planned for the third quarter of 2023.
The four-track expansion is necessary in order to increase capacity on the 23-kilometer railway line, reduce travel times and achieve more punctuality, the railway said. The two double-track sections between Hailer-Meerholz and Gelnhausen are considered bottlenecks. While car traffic on the bridge is hardly affected, the train tracks have to be closed at times to install parts and span the tracks. For this you use the three weekend nights in September (September 3rd to 4th, September 10th to 11th and September 17th to 18th). At times, a rail replacement service runs between Hailer-Meerholz and Gelnhausen.
