The Frankenschnellweg north of Forchheim will be closed from Saturday evening to Sunday (12 noon). The reason is the insertion of a tied arch bridge over the motorway. The 1,200-ton steel structure is one of the most striking structures along the Nuremberg-Bamberg railway line.
Imposing colossus via the A73 near Forchheim
The new railway bridge over the A73 has a total length of 92 meters, is 17.50 meters high and 13.10 meters wide. Deutsche Bahn invested almost ten million euros in the imposing colossus. The pure insertion process takes around eight hours. The structure is then lowered centimeter by centimeter until it rests on the abutments. The arched bridge is moved with so-called “Self-Propelled Modular Transporters” (SPMTs), these are modular vehicles that are specifically used to transport very large and bulky loads. These SPMTs move at a speed of 0.5 kilometers per hour.
The existing structure will be dismantled by the end of 2022 and a second bridge will be inserted west of the railway. The completion of the two new railway bridges is planned for the end of next year.
Franconian expressway closure at the weekend
Due to the insertion of the tied arch bridge, the A73 will be completely closed on Saturday evening from probably 6 p.m. to Sunday, 12 noon, between the Hirschaid and Forchheim-Nord junctions. The diversion route runs over the B505 between Bamberg-Süd and the A3 junction Pommersfelden (towards Frankfurt) or over the existing diversions. In addition, the Buttenheim junction and the Regnitztal PWC system in the direction of Nuremberg will be closed to public traffic.
Four-track expansion for a fast ICE route
The expansion of the modern high-speed line between Nuremberg and Bamberg is part of the “German Unity” project and thus part of the expansion of the line between Munich and Berlin. The section has already been expanded as far as Nuremberg, which has shortened the travel time considerably. Now it is the turn of the Nuremberg-Erfurt-Leipzig / Halle-Berlin axis to continue expanding. The route section is one of the most important German traffic axes. With additional tracks, more capacity will be created; fast ICEs and slow regional and freight trains should then be able to run separately on different tracks. The work is expected to be completed by 2025. In total, the railway has so far invested more than 1.3 billion euros in the four-track expansion of the entire Nuremberg-Berlin line, in Upper Franconia alone 635 million euros.
From the Forchheim area, the planned route leads over the Frankenschnellweg and along the Main-Danube Canal via Eggolsheim, Buttenheim, Hirschaid to Strullendorf. There it crosses under the B505 and continues to Bamberg. A new Bamberg-Süd stop is planned here. At the moment, the Bamberg node in particular is seen as a bottleneck for the new four-track expansion. The route is already overloaded. Therefore, the existing double-track line has to be extended by two tracks.
Full closure also on the A3
As reported by Autobahn GmbH Nordbayern, the A3 will also be completely closed between the Höchstadt-Ost and Erlangen-Frauenaurach junctions from Saturday (8 p.m.) to Sunday (6 p.m.) as part of the six-lane expansion of the autobahn. The reason is the installation of steel girders over the motorway. At the same time, the bridge between Kosbach and Untermembach will be torn down.
In the direction of Nuremberg, road users are diverted at the Höchstadt-Ost junction and first led via the signposted U17 diversion route and then U19 to the Erlangen-Frauenaurach junction, where they get back on the motorway. In the direction of Frankfurt / Main, traffic is diverted at the Erlangen-Frauenaurach junction, initially via the U80 diversion route and then U82 to the Höchstadt-Ost junction and there back on the motorway. The diversion routes are signposted.
The exit from Höchstadt-Nord of the A3 will also be available from Saturday night until probably 18.10. blocked in the direction of Frankfurt / Main. The reason here is the structural adaptation of the exit. Road users traveling on the A3 in the direction of Frankfurt / Main with the destination Höchstadt will be guided to Höchstadt via the Pommersfelden junction. Road users in the direction of Frankfurt / Main with destination Mühlhausen are guided from the junction Pommersfelden via Pommersfelden and Steppach to Mühlhausen. The diversions are signposted.
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