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According to the BUND (German Federation for the Environment and Nature Conservation – Donau-Iller Regional Association), a class action lawsuit is unfortunately not likely to be successful from a legal perspective. For this reason, the BUND has decided not to file a lawsuit against the new 8-lane Adenauer Bridge from Ulm to Neu-Ulm. The association was in favor of a 6-lane version.
By means of an urgent application combined with the action against
The project could have been delayed due to procedural deficiencies, but this would not have advanced the replanning from 8 to 6 lanes that BUND was striving for. Unfortunately, a class action lawsuit is legally impossible.
not very promising, according to BUND.
On August 6, 2024, the planning approval decision for the replacement construction of the Adenauer Bridge between Ulm and Neu-Ulm was published. In the meantime, BUND had received intensive legal advice on this matter.
From a legal perspective, this goal is political. BUND said in a statement: “It is therefore unlikely that it can be achieved through legal action in court. There are still no legal requirements at federal and state level. This is why the regional board has decided against legal action.”
The process in detail
The BUND has always rejected the plans for the eight-lane replacement of the Adenauer Bridge. The BUND had already listed the reasons for this in its statement on the planning approval procedure. These lie in the failure to take into account the traffic development goals of the
States of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg and the city of Ulm, in the massive consumption of resources, additional greenhouse gas emissions during construction and operation, in the use of space and the weakening of the ecological functions of the Ehingen plants.
Despite environmental impacts, no BUND lawsuit
Legal action can be taken against the plan approval decision up to one month after it has been published. In recent weeks, BUND has received intensive advice from a lawyer specialising in environmental and administrative law in Freiburg. Dr. Martin explains that no legal action will be taken now.
Denoix, chairman of the BUND district association Ulm and deputy regional chairman, said: “Unfortunately, our lawyer has not found enough legal grounds for a successful lawsuit to implement the 6-lane road. Formally, the failure to implement the
Environmental impact assessment and the sole responsibility of the Bavarian Planning Office for a cross-border bridge were reasons for a lawsuit. However, an environmental impact assessment is curable and therefore there is little chance of success in stopping the eight-lane “bridge monster”.
Only the “generational justice”, as the Federal Constitutional Court emphasized in its ruling of April 29, 2021 on the then Climate Protection Act, has so far been legally underpinned. In addition, due to the low prospects of success, the lawsuit would involve a very high financial risk.
Criticism of the planning remains
Nevertheless, BUND maintains its criticism of the project. The traffic flows on the Adenauer Bridge were determined without taking into account the political goals, in particular the mobility transition.
This mobility transition envisages significant changes in traffic:
• Shifting freight transport to rail and waterways
• Enormous investments in local public transport to increase usage and attractiveness
• Increasing the proportion of cyclists through attractive and safe routes
Environmentalists complain that all these aspects are not taken into account in the planning of the Adenauer Bridge. On the contrary – the traffic flow volumes are maintained and in the future
even increased.
Tree felling and species protection
In consultation with Ulm and Neu-Ulm residents, the recreational function of the areas surrounding the Adenauer Bridge is rated as high, especially the footpaths and cycle paths along the Danube and the Ehinger Anlagen on the Ulm side. In the city park “Ehinger
In the “Plants” project, 28 trees that are to be felled are to be offset by new plantings.
However, new plantings cannot compete with old trees in terms of habitat potential and climate protection potential.
According to BUND, the green balance should be quantified, for example, based on the leaf mass of the trees to be felled and a corresponding compensation should be created on site.
The same applies to the removal of hedges and bushes and groups of smaller trees. By felling the trees in the Ehingen facilities and in the wider planning area, the planning area will be deprived of all the functions that these trees bring with them (evaporation, shade, oxygen production, CO2
and fine dust absorption, noise protection, …).
From the BUND’s point of view, the replacement building will have a significant impact on the climate and air quality. In order to protect protected bat species living in the construction area, the planning was significantly improved following the BUND’s objections. At least the BUND was successful with this request.
Compatibility of planning with the State Garden Show
An eight-lane expansion of the Adenauer Bridge contradicts the intentions, plans and implementation of the State Garden Show, which is to take place in Ulm in 2030. The garden show is intended to reorganize traffic along the B 10 in the entire city area in favor of city-compatible mobility.
The State Garden Show offers the opportunity to reduce traffic areas. For this reason, the road areas along the entire B 10 and local connecting roads are being significantly reduced.
This applies to the road areas around the Blaubeurer Tor and the Ehinger Tor as well as the Söflinger roundabout and the Söflinger Straße. In the immediate vicinity of the Adenauer Bridge, the Furttenbachstraße will be completely traffic-calmed. The connecting roads to the B 10/B 28 (Bismarckring/
Zinglerstraße) and B 311 (Bismarckring/Zinglerstraße) will be reduced to two-lane routes. The road areas at Ehinger Tor will be combined into two intersections and significantly reduced.
In terms of urban development and traffic, it is not appropriate for the Adenauer Bridge to be expanded to eight lanes. The connecting roads on the Ulm and Neu-Ulm sides will not be able to accommodate the traffic coming and going from the Adenauer Bridge without significant
causing traffic jams.
The second goal of the State Garden Show is to create attractive local recreation areas with a variety of leisure uses, to create more green spaces to improve the city’s climate, to reclaim lost open spaces, and to preserve and enhance species-rich green spaces. This goal of reducing sealed traffic areas is being achieved with a lot of effort in the urban planning in the Blaubeurer Tor area.
The intervention in the Ehingen facilities is in contrast to these criteria. In a municipal statute from 2006, the city of Ulm declared the 3.72 hectare area an urban biotope or a protected landscape component (GLB) in accordance with Section 29 of the Federal Nature Conservation Act.
The intervention in the area, such as the felling of 28 trees, is diametrically opposed to the intentions of the State Garden Show to secure and expand green spaces.
Conclusion
The arguments previously expressed by BUND were largely not taken into account in the planning approval decision. Unfortunately, from a legal point of view, all of the substantive criticisms expressed by BUND are not
promising for a lawsuit. Jana Rettig, BUND regional manager, regrets this very much and hopes that legal improvements will be made soon.
She believes that mandatory measures to reduce private motorised transport are urgently needed. These must also be enshrined in law so that a real mobility turnaround can take place. She describes the replacement construction of the Adenauer Bridge as a project from the last century.
Background: More noise protection on the Neu-Ulm side in the extension of the Adenauer Bridge
An initiative founded in Neu-Ulm for more noise protection in the extension of an Adenauer Bridge (Wiblinger Straße / Ringstraße), which may be expanded in some way, remained unmentioned in the current BUND announcement.
