People are already enjoying their summer holidays in 14 federal states. Many people use their free time to vacation in the far north. But arriving by car via the A7 could become a game of patience: construction is underway.
In the middle of the summer holidays, Autobahn 7 in Hamburg-Bahrenfeld was closed for several days due to construction work on a noise protection tunnel. The blocking of the A7 on the route from the Hamburg-Stellingen exit to the Elbe tunnel was set up as planned on Friday evening, said a spokesman for the traffic control center in Hamburg. It is therefore expected that nothing will work on the A7 between Hamburg-Stellingen and the Elbe tunnel in the direction of Hanover until early Monday morning. Only then should the route be reopened. The police are expecting significant traffic disruptions and recommend driving around or changing to local transport.
14 out of 16 federal states are currently on vacation. The first vacationers, for example from North Rhine-Westphalia, should already be on their way back south. The ADAC recommends that those who want to get through faster should travel back at night or on Monday morning.
Visitors to Hamburg Airport and football fans should also plan more time when arriving. The second division soccer team HSV welcomes FC Hansa Rostock in the Volksparkstadion, which is close to the A7, on Sunday afternoon – and the appropriate connection points to the stadium are also closed. The inner-city traffic will be diverted via the Elbe bridges, national traffic will be diverted between Neumünster-Süd and the Horster Dreieck via the B205, the A21 and the A1. The full closure of the Flensburg lane is planned for the following weekend.
During the closures, construction of the first elements for the Altona noise protection tunnel is to begin. It is planned to install prefabricated beams next to the bridges that crossed Osdorfer Weg and Bahrenfelder Strasse, which have been demolished on one side. The tunnel elements should take over the bridge function. Autobahn GmbH Nord has already announced another complete closure for mid-November for the complete demolition of the old bridges. The two-kilometre-long noise protection tunnel over the A7, which will then be expanded to eight lanes, should be completed by 2028.
(This article was first published on Saturday, July 23, 2022.)