Status: 07.04.2023 5:20 p.m
Travelers who are traveling by car over the long Easter weekend must continue to be prepared for crowded roads and traffic jams. There was a lot of standstill on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday – not only because of the actions of climate protectionists. An overview for Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Hamburg.
Without traffic jams, drivers will probably not get to their destination these days. The General German Automobile Club (ADAC) expects significantly more traffic than in the past three Corona years, but a little less than in 2019. The reasons for this are the tense economic situation and high fuel prices, which is why many would prefer to save themselves a vacation .
Nevertheless, the North Sea and Baltic Sea coasts are, as always, the most popular destinations in the north during the Easter holiday season, and according to ADAC estimates, many will also be making their way south towards the Alps by Saturday. This was particularly noticeable on Good Friday on the A1 near Neuenkirchen/Vörden and near Reinfeld, where bridge construction work is pending. At times, traffic in the direction of Lübeck was backed up over a distance of a good twelve kilometers. But progress was also slow on several sections of the A7 (Bordesholm, Walsrode, Berkhof).
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Action by climate protectors: Elbe bridges and Elbe tunnels affected
An action by the “last generation” in Hamburg had a massive impact on traffic on Thursday morning: five activists had stuck themselves to the roadway on the Elbe bridges, as well as on the A7 northbound at the Elbe tunnel. In addition, cooking oil was apparently dumped – the road had to be cleaned. There were long traffic jams and widespread stop-and-go traffic, which did not disappear on the motorways in the Hamburg area even after the end of the climate protection campaigns due to the high volume of traffic.
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1,000 motorway construction sites in Germany
On other motorways in the north – for example on the A7 in Lower Saxony, the A1 in the direction of Lübeck or the A24 in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania – things were often slow and slow on Thursday. But that was no surprise: according to the ADAC, the last working day before the long holiday weekend is traditionally one of the busiest of the year. However, at least in the north there were no “mega traffic jams” and there was no chaos on the streets.
Especially in the area of motorway construction sites – there are currently more than 1,000 in Germany – it can also be tight on Saturday, according to the ADAC. But there is no construction this weekend. If you can, you should rather start your vacation or short break on Easter Sunday. Then the motorways will probably be the least busy. On Easter Monday, on the other hand, a lot of patience will be required again: the wave of return journeys will cause the next long traffic jams, according to the ADAC.
AUDIO: Getting off the Autobahn in a traffic jam – is it worth it? (2 mins)
Easter traffic jam forecast for Lower Saxony
In Lower Saxony and Bremen will continue the Easter holidays, which began on March 27th, until next Tuesday.
- A1 Bremen-Osnabrück: More traffic jams are expected there, especially between the Bramsche and Vechta junctions due to construction sites
- A7 Hanover-Hamburg: Between the Garlstorf junction and the Thieshope junction, in both directions
- A7 Hannover-Kassel: between Northeim-Nord and Nörten-Hardenberg in both directions until April 7, between Northeim-West and Seesen/Harz in both directions and between Hildesheim-Drispenstedt and Dreieck Hannover-Süd, also in both directions
- A29 Oldenburg-Wilhelmshaven: Between Varel-Obenstrahe and Zetel, both directions are affected
- A29 Oldenburg-Ahlhorner Heide: Between the Sandkrug and Grossenkneten junctions
- Greater Hamburg, roughly between Soltau-Süd and Bispingen.
Easter traffic jam forecast for Schleswig-Holstein
In Schleswig-Holstein, the Easter holidays began on Maundy Thursday. The first day of school after the holidays is April 24th.
- A1 Hamburg-Lübeck: Bridge construction site at the Reinfeld junction
- A7 Hamburg-Flensburg: Danger of traffic jams in both directions
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Easter traffic jam forecast for Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the Easter holidays, which began last Monday, end on the Wednesday after Easter.
- A14/A20: Wismar motorway junction
- A14/A24: Autobahn junction Schwerin
- A19/A20: Rostock motorway junction
- B111: in the area of the Peene Bridge near Wolgast
- B110: in the area of the Zecherin Bridge
- B321: near Rabensteinfeld
- L21: in the Meiningen Bridge area
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Easter traffic jam forecast for Hamburg
The spring break in the Hanseatic city is already over, the students only have the holidays from Friday to Monday off.
- A1 Hamburg-Lübeck: According to the ADAC Hansa Club, there is a risk of overloading on the entire route around the Hanseatic city
- A7 Hanover-Hamburg-Flensburg: north and south of the Elbe tunnel in the construction site area between the Hamburg-Heimfeld and -Volkspark junctions
- A23: According to the ADAC, the construction site from the Hamburg-Northwest triangle should not be a major obstacle
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More information about the Easter weekend
