- Wissing: A general concept for possible A5 expansion to come
Federal Minister of Transport Volker Wissing has announced a comprehensive concept for a possible ten-lane expansion of the A5 motorway at the Frankfurt intersection. Following a technical feasibility study, such a concept will follow, the FDP politician said in an interview with the German Press Agency in Mainz. "We have the task of ensuring that Germany does not come to a standstill."
"Where we have congestion, we lose efficiency," the minister emphasized. "This costs the national economy money, and therefore we must ensure that bottlenecks are eliminated." After the feasibility study, it will now be checked what is the best solution for the region. "If our country is to successfully overcome the challenges of the future, it needs modern infrastructure."
Feasibility study is several hundred pages long
The several hundred-page feasibility study by an engineering firm on the expansion of the stretch between the Frankfurt intersection and the Friedberg junction concluded that an expansion to ten lanes is fundamentally technically feasible. This would also lead to good traffic flow, the motorway company announced at the beginning of June. Environmentalists view a further expansion critically, and the city of Frankfurt is also against an expansion.
Hesse's Minister of Economics Kaweh Mansoori (SPD) had described the feasibility study in June as a step towards further weighing decisions. A ten-lane expansion is not predetermined or set in stone by the study. He had informed Wissing that such an expansion would only be possible with encapsulation, i.e., a surrounding of the motorway. It can already be said today that an expansion would be associated with billions in costs and complex noise protection, and is therefore to be viewed very critically. Wissing now told dpa in Mainz that there is a need for action on the A5. "The long-term forecast for traffic volume speaks a clear language."
Updating of traffic forecast
"In addition to traffic flow, important additional aspects must be taken into account in the further decision-making process," says Wissing. These include in particular economic aspects and impacts on nature, land use, air pollutants, and noise protection. A comprehensive concept for evaluating and implementing the expansion and an update of the traffic forecast until 2040 are important for a decision on further steps.
Parallel to this, the federal motorway company is driving forward plans, according to the Federal Ministry, to improve traffic flow on the A5. The focus is on congestion-prone motorway intersections and structures for which replacement construction is pending due to low remaining useful life. The width of the structures will be chosen in such a way that an expansion of the motorway remains possible.
The German Press Agency reported on Volker Wissing's announcement of a concept for a potential ten-lane expansion of the A5 motorway at Frankfurt intersection, which was based on a feasibility study by an engineering firm. In Mainz, Wissing also emphasized the need for action on the A5 due to the long-term forecast of increased traffic volume.
