They have gathered at the north bridge over the Rhine – the Friedrich-Ebert Bridge. About 100 climate activists from various protest groups and citizens’ initiatives. They want to vent their anger and find that the planned construction measures are out of date: “More lanes means more traffic in the city‘ says one student. Participant Birgit says: “I don’t feel heard by politicians – the plans do not fit the climate movement.“
Point of conflict “centipede”
Specifically, they go against the grain, among other things, that the federal government wants to spread the so-called centipede. The six-and-a-half-year expansion of the A565 between the Nordbrücke and Poppelsdorf from four to six lanes with two hard shoulders had originally been planned for a long time. In the spring of 2021, Autobahn GmbH estimated that construction would start at the end of 2023. 2025 is now considered to be the year in which the centipede’s replacement construction is to be tackled first. According to the responsible Autobahn GmbH, it is currently getting an overview of the objections to this project.
More than 10 construction sites at the same time?
Bonn threatens to become a permanent construction site in the next few years. A map shows how much construction work is about to start – or has already started. Widening of the A59, new construction at the endenicher egg and others. According to the Autobahn GmbH, the A565 even has to be completely closed several times.
Entrepreneurs welcome the fact that the region is arming itself for even more traffic, but hope that the construction projects will be planned wisely. Sabine Baumann-Duvenbeck is a freight forwarder in Bornheim and is already struggling with the permanent traffic jam around Bonn: “A good order for the construction work must be established. If everything happened at the same time, Bonn would no longer be accessible at all.“
Turnaround in transport policy
The demonstrators on the A565 have now moved on to the Beueler Rheinwiese with banners. They stand in a row, wanting to show how much meadow would be lost if the autobahn were widened. Raimund Gerber is the initiator and hopes for nothing less than a turnaround in transport policy: “We have to get away from the car and onto the train. Politicians need to understand that. It is not too late yet.” He and the others want to keep fighting – against existing plans, for more climate protection.
We have about this topic on March 16, 2023 in the WDR TV: local time from Bonn, 7:30 p.m. reported.