Once the pandemic subsides, Rüdesheim is hoping for a summer of revival in tourism and economic recovery.

The city is therefore very upset about the speed at which the railways lowered and restored Geisenheimer Strasse.

A new railway bridge was pushed over this street in a spectacular action last August.

At the time, it was said that the remaining work on the road below would be completed by the end of the year so that traffic on the eastern main access road could flow again.

In the meantime, there is talk of completion "probably at the end of July".

Oliver Bock

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

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This means a small catastrophe for Rüdesheim, because after Easter, but especially from the beginning of June, many guests are expected in the city again and most of them will be arriving by car.

Mayor Klaus Zapp (independent) reports "angry and angry calls every day" from citizens who are annoyed about the complicated detour through residential areas.

Zapp expects a difficult spring and a complicated early summer after the train was delayed during the construction work.

However, the railway has now announced that the road under the bridge will temporarily be open to traffic on the occasion of the Magic Bike Rally motorcycle meeting and the fireworks spectacle "Rhein in Flammen".

"The retaining wall was not originally part of the project"

The railway justified the doubling of the originally planned construction time on the road with the need to secure the supporting wall to the neighboring Albertistrasse, which was recognized as dilapidated.

Supply cables that need to be laid were also discovered in the wall.

At a press conference, however, Deutsche Bahn representatives admitted that the renovation of the retaining wall would have had a few more years to go and that the completion date of the end of 2021 or at least the first quarter of 2022 could have been met.

"The retaining wall was not originally part of the project," confirms Deutsche Bahn Group representative Klaus Vornhusen.

However, the railway representatives also admitted that the renovation had already been planned in March 2021, before December 2021 was named as the completion date in August.

For Mayor Zapp it was a new realization that the retaining wall could have waited a few more years.

Zapp therefore expressed his great dissatisfaction with the timing at the construction site and with the communication.

So far, he has been told that the renovation of the retaining wall cannot be postponed.

Now it will be difficult for Rüdesheim because the citizens would be annoyed and tourism would be hindered.

Everyone involved must now make “the best” of the situation.

It is by no means certain whether the road will actually be opened at the end of July because the tender for the retaining wall work is still ongoing.

According to Bahn, the large-scale railway bridge project with road rehabilitation and deepening is estimated at 31.5 million euros.

But it is not the only project, because the railway has tackled all the dilapidated railway underpasses in Rüdesheim.

The pedestrian underpass in Assmannshausen, which cost 3.3 million euros, was only released a few days ago, even if it could have been used long ago.

However, according to Vornhusen, the railway can only “release” a structure when the lighting and the handrail are in place.

Special tourist needs

The pedestrian tunnel at the Adlerturm in Rüdesheim, which costs 3.6 million euros, also has to be illuminated.

It should be released by the end of March.

This also applies to the Rheinstraße underpass.

It was originally supposed to be finished in August of last year.

In this case, however, the delay is not due to the railway itself, but to the flooding, which prevented earlier completion.

The new underpass at the old Rüdesheim train station has been finished for almost two years.

The location of the future station further east in the city area is one of the major projects that will soon be specified.

In addition, the railway wants to build noise protection walls over a length of 600 meters in Rüdesheim, the location and design of which still have to be discussed.

And maybe at some point the level crossing at the previous station will actually be removed by an underpass, even if that's still a dream of the future because planning is slow.

Rüdesheim not only struggles with the railways when it comes to its special location on the Rhine and its special needs in terms of tourism.

but also with Hessen Mobil.

The continuation of Germany's most expensive cycle path between Rüdesheim and the state border near Lorchhausen again requires a full closure of the shore road for the section between Assmannshausen and Lorch.

According to Hessen Mobil, the federal road will therefore be closed from Tuesday between Assmannshausen and the Bächergrund junction.

Occupational health and safety is cited as the reason, because the street is not wide enough for single-lane traffic.

In addition, the bank wall was previously damaged after the flood in summer 2021.

The full closure is expected to last until the end of May.

The diversion is signposted via Rüdesheim-Presberg and Geisenheim.

Due to the limited space on the main road between the Rhine and the railway line, a so-called cantilever is being built in sections for the footpath and cycle path.

The path is guided over the Rhine with support posts.

In addition, the retaining wall next to the B 42 will be renovated.

Further full closures have been announced for October 2022 and spring 2023.

Most recently, the Uferstraße was completely closed from mid-July to mid-December due to flood damage.