Traffic - One tube still closed after truck fire in Elbe tunnel
After a truck fire in the heavily trafficked Hamburg Elbtunnel on the A7, only three of the four tubes are free for traffic. The investigations into the damages are not yet completed, according to a spokesperson for the traffic control room of the German Press Agency. The fourth tube might be drivable again on Friday afternoon. However, asphalt paving works are scheduled in the morning.
This weekend, the holidays begin in the most populous federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia. A truck fire in the Elbtunnel on Thursday had already caused long traffic jams. The police suspect a technical defect as the cause of the fire.
The Elbtunnel was closed entirely in the morning. Later, two lanes in the direction of the North could be reopened. Since the afternoon, the tunnel could be used in both directions again. Three tubes were reopened, but the fourth one remained closed initially. The Othmarschen on-ramp in the direction of the South was also closed.
The fire in the Hamburg Elbtunnel on Thursday affected not only the day's traffic but also the upcoming weekend, given the ongoing asphalt paving works. Despite the traffic jams caused by the truck fire, Hamburg residents and visitors to North Rhine-Westphalia for the holidays still needed to use this critical tunnel. Unfortunately, the fire damage investigations by the German Press Agency's traffic control room might delay the full reopening of the Elbtunnel until after the paving works.
