The ailing Rahmede viaduct on Autobahn 45 near Lüdenscheid must be demolished.
This means that car traffic on the important traffic axis between the eastern Ruhr area and Frankfurt cannot be reopened as planned, as the federal Autobahn GmbH responsible announced on Friday.
The bridge has been closed since the beginning of December.
According to Elfriede Sauerwein-Braksiek, Head of the Westphalia branch of Autobahn GmbH, cracks were found on the side members in addition to the damage that had already been discovered.
For this reason, no vehicles are allowed to drive over the structure.
Autobahn GmbH originally planned to be able to reopen traffic to car traffic after around three months after a makeshift reinforcement of the bridge.
The damage was discovered at the beginning of December 2021 during an inspection during the course of the new construction planning for the bridge between Lüdenscheid and Lüdenscheid-Nord.
The experts found deformations in a steel girder.
Traffic was stopped immediately.
Upon further investigation, the engineers found further damage.
The A45 is an important axis from the Ruhr area to southern Germany in the direction of Frankfurt.
Bridges have been renovated or built on the route for years.
The new closure is one of a long series of problematic cases in North Rhine-Westphalia.
Several bridges over the Rhine are in disrepair.
Here the traffic is reduced and the heavy goods traffic is diverted partly with barriers.
The full closure at Lüdenscheid had caused chaotic conditions on the diversion routes.
Residents complained about the great burden.
Nationwide, traffic has since been diverted from Frankfurt in the direction of Cologne and Kassel.
On the A1 (Cologne-Bremen), the diversions start at the Westhofener Kreuz near Dortmund.
From the south, traffic is directed via the A4 in the direction of Cologne.