The bridge reconstruction kicks off amid debate over infrastructure priorities
Monday, October 20
The rebuilding of the Ringbahn bridge starts this Monday, October 20. As a result, motorists will face closures and diversions from October 30, according to the project company Deges. Part of the reason for closures is the demolition of the motorway bridge Halenseestraße Ost, which is currently closed for traffic. Berlin’s S-Bahn network will also face minor restrictions during the construction period. The new Ringbahn bridge is expected to be finished by summer 2027.
Traffic researcher Andreas Knie has criticised the construction of the new bridge, arguing that when something has become obsolete we need to question “whether we still need it.” Knie emphasised that “in general, we need to shrink intelligently, because we can no longer finance the kilometres of motorways we have in Berlin, or indeed in Germany as a whole. The money we have available is simply no longer enough.” Additionally, Berlin has seen a one to two percent reduction in mileage per year since 2016. Knie stated that “the old idea that we are driving more and more and need ever larger infrastructure, more bridges and more motorways is no longer true.”
The old Ringbahn bridge was part of the Funkturm motorway junction, one of the busiest traffic hubs in Germany. In March this year, the bridge was closed as a crack in its supporting structure had unexpectedly spread. Shortly afterwards, the overpass over the S-Bahn tracks was demolished. The Ringbahn Bridge will not be the only bridge having to undergo construction – according to the Senate, 120 bridges will have to be completely renovated or rebuilt in the next ten years. The estimated costs amount to around one billion euros for the structures under the state’s responsibility alone. Of the total of 835 bridges under the state’s responsibility only 21 per cent are still considered ‘good’ or ‘very good’.
