Confusion at the Giessen Nordkreuz: Which motorway is it really?

Confusion at the Giessen Nordkreuz: Which motorway is it really?

A burning mystery at Giessen's Nordkreuz is a topic of conversation! This mysterious connection between the A480 and A485 is not only confusing for road users, but also for emergency services. The question keeps coming up: Which highway does this one-kilometer-long section actually belong to?

While the A480 is currently under reconstruction, the connection to the A485 often remains unused. Officially, the connection is marked as A485 on maps, and Autobahn GmbH confirms this when asked. But a look on site shows: the A480 is emblazoned on the white milestones! How can that be? Autobahn GmbH has not yet provided any answers to repeated questions.

The consequences for emergency services

This confusion has serious consequences - in an emergency, everything has to happen at lightning speed! City fire inspector Marco Kirchner from the Lollar fire department explains: In the event of an accident at this critical interface, it is crucial that the police, fire department and rescue services go to the right place immediately. If you follow the misleading highway number, valuable time can be lost! And this is not just a theoretical problem, but could have dramatic consequences in an emergency.

In addition, the situation is further complicated by the nearby federal highway 3. Here, control is the responsibility of other authorities, which can cause additional confusion during an operation. It might make sense to simply give this complicated section its own number to avoid chaos and uncertainty in operations management. Finally, there are still some unused numbers!