Ice top scandal: Leverkusener Brücke closed for hours!

Ice top scandal: Leverkusener Brücke closed for hours!

Leverkusen, Deutschland - On January 10, 2025 at 10:26 a.m., the police were drawn to falling ice sheets on the A1 motorway bridge in Leverkusen. Immediate measures followed: The bridge was closed in both directions to ensure traffic safety. The Cologne fire brigade flished the bridge pylons using a drone of Autobahn GmbH and confirmed the presence of about 10 square meters of ice, which began to fall due to the increasing temperatures. Up to 1.5 cm thick ice sheets plunged onto the road, which was a significant danger to traffic.

icy situation requires rescue helicopter

To remove the threatening ice masses, the rescue helicopter Christoph 3 was alerted to circle over the bridge pylons and loosen the ice from the roof area. However, this measure was not completely successful, and a telescopic mast stage of the RWE Fire Brigade Neurath was requested, which can ride up to 90 meters. Only with this special vehicle could the emergency services successfully reach the endangered area and free from ice. The assignment lasted several hours, which also led to a considerable traffic jam on the highway, where over 100,000 vehicles pass the bridge every day, such as .

During the operational measures, there were already minor accidents due to falling ice, but fortunately there were no injuries. First, the right lanes and the bicycle paths were blocked until a comprehensive hazard analysis was carried out by the fire brigade and the motorway master. Other streets, such as the north bridge in Bonn, were also affected at times. Due to the elaborate manual removal of the ice sheets with a lifting gear, the bridge could finally be released again, and the traffic can now flow unhindered again, such as FIREWORLD.AT explained .