Work on the €2.8 billion A3 highway upgrade in Bavaria is due for completion in late 2025. The 80km stretch is being widened so that it will feature three lanes in either direction between Biebelried, near the city of Würzburg, and Erlangen, near the city of Nürnberg (Nuremberg). The work is being carried out under the PPP model and will cut congestion and boost safety on the route, which carries a high percentage of heavy transport trucks and handles an average of around 90,000 vehicles/day at present.
Also in Nürnberg, work is underway for the harbour bridges project. Costing €347.5 million in total, €191 million is being provided by the Free State of Bavaria, with this project due for completion in 2027. The existing bridges are being demolished, although traffic flow is continuing during the work. Temporary bridges form part of the project.
The Frankenschnellweg bridge over the southwest tangent and the Main-Danube Canal consists of two bridge sections. During the work, traffic will be routed over one side of the bridge, so that demolition and new construction can take place on the other side. For the construction of the new Hafenstraße bridges over the Südwesttangente and the Main-Danube Canal, on the other hand, temporary temporary bridges will be erected in advance, which will also allow the canal and the Südwesttangente to be crossed on Hafenstraße during the construction period.
However, plans to construct two new suspension bridges in the Franconian Forest Nature Park have been criticised. Building the 1km Höllentalbrücke bridge and 389m Lohbachtalbrücke bridge was originally expected to cost €12 million. The work is now expected to cost in excess of €42 million.
Meanwhile, the Transport Ministry for the state of Hesse has said that its planned road construction work will continue. The state does have a major funding gap for the work though. Upgrade and extension work will be carried out to five highways in Hesse, with work planned for 2029. The sources of the required funding have not been revealed at this stage.
