Industry associated with building structures and ADAC issue caution on potential reductions in transportation infrastructure funding.
Business and infrastructure groups, along with ADAC, issue warnings about potential budget reductions in Germany's traffic infrastructure by the federal government and the decline of critical bridges. Over 4000 bridges on German highways alone require repairs or rebuilding, according to a joint statement made on Thursday by numerous associations.
Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing had declared at the first bridge summit two years ago that the federal government would initiate at least 400 bridge construction projects every year starting from 2026, aiming to clear the backlog within ten years. "We're still a long way from the 400 bridges per year." Recently, there have been a series of tender cancellations due to funding issues, and the Autobahn GmbH's construction program has been shrunk overall.
The associations expressed concern over the plan to reduce the Autobahn GmbH's budget by 20% to 4.9 billion Euros. "This neglectful investment policy will result in more bridges being closed and the road network continuing to deteriorate." Funding for highway construction must not be decreased. Instead, an additional one billion Euros in investments per year should be provided, "to kickstart the bridge modernization program and secure the modernization of federal highways."
The construction industry also values the bridge construction program. "Companies have expanded their capabilities, assuming that the contracts announced by the federal government would actually materialize," it was said. Now, companies are lined up—risking financial losses. Employees in bridge construction may soon be facing short-time work, too. Among the associations are the logistics groups BGL, DSLV and BWVL, the construction associations ZDB and HDB, engineers (VBI), and the Allgemeine Deutsche Automobil-Club (ADAC).
