The wait for the big explosion is dragging on.

According to the Autobahn GmbH, there is still no date for the planned demolition of the southern and northern halves of the Salzbachtal Bridge.

Work on the construction of the scaffolding towers was currently in progress, and workers were also preparing the stand areas they needed.

The towers are to be erected on these areas in the next few days in order to give the pillars that are in danger of collapsing more stability.

There is still a safety zone of 50 meters around the bridge, which cannot be entered.

Oliver Bock

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

  • Follow I follow

    The Autobahn GmbH is therefore currently dependent on remote-controlled devices and vehicles.

    To the west of the particularly endangered pillar, a ballast substructure is currently being built using a remote-controlled caterpillar.

    This should form a stable basis for the western of the two planned scaffolding towers.

    The eastern tower will stand on the street below the bridge and will be erected by a truck crane.

    The caterpillar is steered from a van parked on the bridge of the federal highway 263.

    Inside is the driver's cab with a large screen monitor for the caterpillar vehicle.

    "Frictional connection" between the bridge superstructure and supporting structures

    When the two scaffolding towers are in place, the hydraulic presses mounted on them are used. They are extended until the "frictional connection" is established between the bridge superstructure and the supporting structure. This should stabilize the bridge to such an extent that the experts can go directly to the structure to clarify the cause of the damage and that the demolition can be prepared safely.

    Meanwhile, the state capital has made further requirements to avoid the traffic gridlock. This includes the reorganization of the traffic management on Mainzer Straße around the Amöneburg roundabout. An additional bus lane was marked there. According to the city, however, this is limited to the time of the actual closure of Wiesbaden Central Station. The bus lane is intended to accelerate the journey of bus lines 6 and 33 as well as the rail replacement buses between the stations. "Up to 20 buses per hour benefit from the temporary bus lane," says the town hall.

    On the Theodor-Heuss-Ring (Second Ring) between Mainzer Straße and Biebricher Allee, a second lane will also be temporarily designated in order to achieve a better traffic flow on this important traffic axis.

    The city has already implemented this in the section from Breitenbachstraße to Biebricher Allee.

    "Better every day"

    "Our first observations show that the measure has a positive effect on the flow of traffic," says Head of Transport Andreas Kowol (Die Grünen): "It's a feat of strength, but we get the situation under control every day." Parking spaces are checked by the civil engineering and surveying office for replacement parking spaces in southern Breitenbachstrasse.

    Further "emergency measures" also for the accessibility of the Biebrich, Wiesbaden-Ost and Schierstein stations are currently being examined.