A few more weeks will pass before the ailing Salzbachtal bridge is blown up.

A date has not yet been set.

But there is at least one good news for the suffering drivers: The bypass of the Mainzer Straße (B263), which has been closed for two weeks, has been laid and opened to traffic on Thursday afternoon.

This means that the state capital's most important arterial road to the south is no longer blocked.

The short, only one-lane bypass in each direction leads up the motorway ramp at the Mainzer Straße junction in front of the Salzbachtal bridge, across the closed motorway section and the central reservation opened for this, and then back down onto the B263 via the other ramp.

This bypass is open for cyclists and pedestrians from Friday.

Oliver Bock

Correspondent for the Rhein-Main-Zeitung for the Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis and for Wiesbaden.

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    The route is single-lane, but according to the head of the traffic department, Andreas Kowol (The Greens), this is a significant improvement over the previous full closure.

    According to the city, bus transport will benefit in every respect.

    Above all, the special buses currently in use between the train stations should now maintain public transport more punctually than before.

    Heavy traffic on Äppelallee

    In a few days, a ban on trucks on the section of the A66 between the Schiersteiner Kreuz and the Biebrich junction is to come into force. From Kowol's point of view, this is necessary because the trucks at the junction itself, when turning left onto Biebricher Allee and then onto Kasteler Straße, significantly impede the flow of traffic. In return, the city initially accepts that significantly more heavy goods traffic will drive into the city via Äppelallee, but Kowol wants to keep an eye on the situation.

    The reprogramming of the traffic lights along the main traffic axes is in progress and is intended to relieve the traffic police, who are still regulating traffic with a high level of personnel at the critical points. Alexander Pilz, head of the Darmstadt branch of Autobahn GmbH, hopes that these and other campaigns will have a "relieving effect" for all road users. Eswe Verkehr is betting that four bus routes (3, 6, 33 and 34) can run faster and more reliably.

    In the meantime, the preparatory work to stabilize the fragile pillars on the Salzbachtal Bridge has begun.

    Steel scaffolding towers are being prepared to provide support if the worst comes to the worst.

    That should be completed by the end of next week.

    Where the bridge bearings are still functional, so-called concrete cushions were placed as "lining" so that, similar to Pillar D, there is no serious lowering if the bearings fail.

    Reorganize delivery traffic

    Together with Kowol, Mayor Gert-Uwe Mende (SPD) has meanwhile conferred with representatives of Wiesbaden's economy on the consequences of the closure of the bridge. According to Kowol, the companies are hit twice because they have to reorganize their commercial and delivery traffic and because it must also be ensured that the workplace remains accessible for the employees. Kowol announced on Thursday an "emergency program" with a volume of one million euros. The money will, among other things, flow into the quick upgrading of the second ring. But buses and trains should also benefit. The magistrate should decide on this on Tuesday. A follow-up meeting was agreed with the business representatives for September.

    Then the bridge could already be in ruins and maybe the main train station could be reached again, provided that the previous plans remain.

    The district council of the Rheingau-Taunus district has meanwhile decided on an urgency request without discussion and thus given the district committee an entire bundle of projects to examine and implement.

    This includes the designation of additional lanes, additional free park-and-ride spaces at the train stations, additional bus connections from the central transfer points, a direct bus connection from Idstein to Wiesbaden and a provisional commissioning of the Aartal route between Wiesbaden-Ost and Wiesbaden-Dotzheim.