Freeway - Stuck wind turbine transport paralyzes freeway junction
A fixed heavy transport with meter-long rotor blades of a wind turbine blocked the Autobahnkreuz Recklinghausen for hours during the night on Saturday. A blade got stuck in the overhead wiring from the A43 to the A2 towards Hannover, according to a spokesperson for the highway police. Over 150 meters of shrubbery had to be cut back to free the rotor blade. The transport consisted of a total of three giant wind blades and, according to the police, extended over a length of approximately 240 meters with additional vehicles. The Autobahnkreuz was still blocked until 5:00 am on Sunday morning.
Normally, oversized transport vehicles must be precisely calculated and reported in terms of length, width, and height. However, the transport company apparently overlooked this. The driver of the heavy transport commented on the consequential accident to the police lapidarily with the words: "One has overestimated oneself."
- The large-scale operation to transport several wind turbine rotor blades from Recklinghausen to Hannover in North Rhine-Westphalia led to a significant emergency on the Freeway interchange.
- The incident involved a freeway blockage caused by a stuck rotor blade from one of the giant wind blades, leading to extensive traffic disruptions.
- The police in Germany had to deal with the situation, which affected both the A43 and A2 freeways, resulting in immense delays in transportation.
- The city of Hanover was also potentially affected, as the transport was heading towards it, and any further holdup could have impacted the city's transportation network.
- To resolve the issue, a large-scale effort was required, involving cutting back over 150 meters of shrubbery to ensure the safe removal of the rotor blade from the overhead wiring.
- The rescue operation took hours to complete, and the Freeway interchange in Recklinghausen did not reopen until 5:00 am on Sunday, causing widespread inconvenience to commuters and motorists.
