Skip to main content

At least 300 German road bridges to be replaced or refurbished by 2020

Germany intends to refurbish or replace at least 300 road bridges between now and 2020. It’s reported that this will result in costs of between US$ 4.81 billion (€3.60bn) and $8.92 billion (€6.7bn), based on 2010 prices. Many of the bridges affected are from the 1960s to 1980s and thought no longer suitable for the heavy transport traffic of today. Another claimed factor behind the necessity for the multi-billion dollar investment is that damage resulting from global warming was not taken into account when
January 23, 2013 Read time: 1 min
Germany intends to refurbish or replace at least 300 road bridges between now and 2020. It’s reported that this will result in costs of between US$ 4.81 billion (€3.60bn) and $8.92 billion (€6.7bn), based on 2010 prices. Many of the bridges affected are from the 1960s to 1980s and thought no longer suitable for the heavy transport traffic of today. Another claimed factor behind the necessity for the multi-billion dollar investment is that damage resulting from global warming was not taken into account when they were built.

Related Content

  • VIDEO: It’s a bird? It’s a plane? No, it’s a…..bus!
    May 27, 2016
    It’s not a new idea, the straddle bus. It dates back to the 1960s. But if a prototype bus in a pilot project in China is successful, highway engineers working on urban roads may have to throw out their design templates. Recent Chinese reports have said a prototype is being built in the city of Chengzou for a pilot project being set up on the streets of Qinhuangdao, a coastal city about 300km east of Beijing, by the end of this summer. The bus’s main body glides above the road surface at 60kph on a
  • Wrong time to end right turns?
    March 15, 2024
    Banning right-hand turns after stopping for a red light is gaining momentum in the US. But debate continues about whether it will result in fewer incidents between vehicles and alternative mobility users. David Arminas reports.
  • Crisis for German bridge condition
    April 18, 2025
    Germany’s bridges are in critical condition!
  • Learning from Russia's controversial road project
    February 9, 2012
    The International Road Federation (IRF), founded in 1948, is the only world forum advocating better and safer roads through better road design and construction bearing in mind the user. It is a unique institution that brings together members active in road infrastructure from both the private and public sectors. The IRF promotes roads that are safe, economically viable and ecologically friendly. The IRF believes that a sound road infrastructure brings prosperity, fights poverty, furthers education and gi