construction work will drag on until 2028
However, it will still be a few years before drivers will be able to drive faster on the finished A72. Because now the road in the direction of Chemnitz is being built, explained project manager Winter: “The gap closure will be complete in 2026.” The remaining work, for example for noise protection, would continue until 2028.
In 2026 the gap will be closed.
Eric Winter Project Manager
However, the planned costs for the section could not be met, said Winter. “We are currently at approved costs of 240 million euros,” he explained. But this cost estimate from 2017 will not be tenable simply because of the price increases, for example due to delivery bottlenecks. He did not give precise details of how much more expensive it would be.
Which sections of the A72 are still under construction? Since August 2013 there has been free travel between the Bavarian Vogtland via Chemnitz to Borna. The almost ten-kilometer section between Borna and Rötha was fully released in October 2019. The last section of the A72 from Rötha to the A38 south of Leipzig has been under construction since 2016.
Kretschmer: Closing the gap to Bavaria
The last section of the A72 would not only bring the regions of Leipzig and Chemnitz closer together, but also close the gap to the Free State of Bavaria, said Saxony’s Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer (CDU). “We have Chemnitz, Dresden, Leipzig and the surrounding regions such as Bavaria as a large automobile country. It was absolutely clear that this road was needed,” said Kretschmer.
MDR (phb, Ines Adam, cke)/dpa