Wissing: A1 uses environmental concerns as a pretext

Construction - Wissing: A1 uses environmental concerns as a pretext

In the opinion of Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing, the ongoing stagnation in the construction of the Autobahn 1 through the Eifel region shows the need for accelerated planning. There are cases in which environmental concerns are used as an excuse to prevent infrastructure measures in general, the FDP politician told the German Press Agency in an editorial interview in Mainz. "We are now experiencing this again with the A1."

Wissing emphasized that it is absolutely clear that the expansion of infrastructure must be carried out in harmony with nature and the environment or that interventions must at least be justifiable. However, if an assessment has taken place and it has been decided that an expansion is justifiable, it must also be possible for a company to give priority to the expansion of infrastructure.

In the case of the A1, the Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz (BUND) recently filed a lawsuit against the expansion through the Eifel. Autobahn 1 runs from the Baltic Sea coast in Schleswig-Holstein via Hamburg, Bremen, Münster, Wuppertal and Cologne through the Eifel to Saarbrücken and is one of the longest highways in Germany - albeit with interruptions.

It currently ends in the north near Blankenheim in North Rhine-Westphalia and in the south near Kelberg. Closing the approximately 25-kilometer gap has been a topic of discussion for many years. A planning approval decision was issued in the summer for the section between Adenau in the Ahrweiler district and Kelberg in the Vulkaneifel district, and BUND had already announced its opposition at the time.

Read also:

• Ford halts production in India, losing $2 billion

1. Volker Wissing, the German Federal Transport Minister, critiques the delay in constructing the Autobahn 1 through the Eifel region, attributing it to the misuse of environmental concerns as a pretext.
2. The ongoing stagnation in the construction of Autobahn 1, according to Wissing, highlights the importance of expediting planning processes to facilitate infrastructure development.
3. The Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz (BUND) had filed a lawsuit against the expansion of Autobahn 1 through the Eifel, casting doubt on the project's future.
4. The expansion of Autobahn 1, which runs from the Baltic Sea to Saarbrücken, faces opposition in the Eifel region, specifically near Blankenheim in North Rhine-Westphalia.
5. The Government must strike a balance between environmental concerns and the need for infrastructure development, ensuring that interventions are justifiable and done in harmony with the environment, as stated by Volker Wissing.
6. The decision to proceed with the expansion of Autobahn 1 through the Eifel has been reached, but opposition from organizations like BUND continues to hinder the further construction of the A1.
7. Environmental groups like BUND, based in Rhineland-Palatinate, use legal means to prevent or slow down infrastructure developments, citing environmental concerns as a primary reason.

Source: www.stern.de