New bridge being planned for German city Bonn

A new bridge project is being planned for the German city of Bonn. The city has three bridges crossing the Rhein River, the North, South and Kennedy Bridges. The North Bridge is in need of replacement as it is no longer able to meet the city’s traffic needs. The existing structure will be demolished and replaced with a new bridge in a project worth €205 million. Plans should be ready for the new link in 2020, with construction expected to commence in 2028.

Built in 1967, the existing structure cannot be upgraded to cope with the improved highway link carrying three lanes of traffic in either direction being planned for the city. Measuring 1,290m-long, the North Bridge (also known as the Friedrich-Ebert-Bridge), was one of the first modern cable-stayed bridges to be built. The bridge connects the A59 and A555 routes. When the road widening was first considered it was expected that the bridge would also be widened however it soon became apparent that this would not be practical. The project is one of several planned for the area in an around Bonn, which will also see the A565 and A562 routes being widened to carry three lanes in either direction. Another highway link in the area, connecting the Bonn-Nordost highway junction to the Sankt Augustin highway junction, will be widened to four lanes in either direction.