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Delay on the A49: the gap will not be closed until 2025 – environmentalists on alert!
Closing the gap in the A49 in Central Hesse will be delayed until 2025 due to construction defects and necessary rework.
Delay on the A49: the gap will not be closed until 2025 – environmentalists on alert!
The completion of the last section of the A49 motorway between Schwalmstadt and the Ohmtal triangle in Central Hesse will be significantly delayed. This gap closure was originally supposed to be completed by the end of 2024, but it is now clear that it will not be opened to traffic until the first quarter of 2025. Autobahn GmbH and the project company Deges announced that structural defects in parts of the infrastructure, especially the drainage system, were causing the delay. Internal quality controls identified deficiencies that must be remedied before they are released to traffic, which means that the work cannot be completed in the short term tagesschau.de reported.
Protests and infrastructure
This stretch of highway, about 30 kilometers long, has been the subject of intensive construction and heated controversy over the past four years. The construction cuts through several forest areas, including the Dannenröder Forest, which led to massive protests from environmentalists who viewed further construction as harmful to the environment. Their actions made the Dannenröder Forest a symbol of the conflict over the highway expansion. Construction is currently underway on the A49 south bypass near Kassel, which will further increase traffic in the region zeit.de added.
The delay on the A49 means that the planned relief of the regional traffic situation through this new motorway section cannot occur as planned. The motorway connection is intended to improve Kassel and Gießen and relieve congestion on surrounding roads, but the ongoing tense situation due to the simultaneous construction sites could increase the traffic conflicts that commuters face. A fixed date for commissioning has not yet been set, but those responsible assure that everything is being done to quickly complete both the outstanding work on the motorway and the simultaneous renovation of the A49 southern bypass.