Lüdenscheid (dpa / lnw) – Doubts have been raised on December 18th as the date for the planned demolition of the dilapidated Rahmedetal bridge on the Sauerland line A45. Lüdenscheid’s mayor Sebastian Wagemeyer (SPD) informed the city council that, according to information from the Federal Ministry of Transport, the award procedure for blowing up the motorway bridge could not be completed as planned, a city spokeswoman said on Tuesday.
When asked by dpa, the Federal Ministry of Transport only confirmed on Tuesday that the award procedure for the blasting had not been completed – “due to the usual legal framework”. However, this has no influence on the planning and construction of the new bridge.
The Rahmedetal Bridge between the Ruhr area and Frankfurt am Main was closed last December after serious damage was discovered. “We will blow up this bridge before Christmas,” Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) said in August and then assured that there would be no delays.
The closure of the dilapidated viaduct has been causing congested alternative routes in and around Lüdenscheid for months. The North Rhine-Westphalian Ministry of Transport had called for a binding timetable for the construction of the bridge as well as an acceleration concept and faster decisions. Wissing had rejected the criticism: Work is being done quickly and with particular commitment.
