Refurbishment of the Karl Schmidt-Rottluff Bridge begins
The renovation of the Karl-Schmidt-Rottluff Bridge will begin next Tuesday, 24 April. The bridge, colloquially known as the Kaßbergauffahrt, will be fully closed from next Monday, 23 April. The renovation is expected to be completed in October 2019. The costs for the construction work amount to 5.3 million euros. Originally, the city council had planned to postpone the construction project due to the significant price increases in the tender results, resulting in a cost increase of 2.5 million euros, and to include it in another funding programme in the 2019/2020 biennial budget. At its March meeting, the city council passed resolution B-075/2018 to provide additional funds from the Investment Strengthening Act, including the necessary own funds.
The construction project includes the renovation of the bridge, the staircase on Fabrikstraße and the repair of the retaining wall (out of town on the right). As part of the bridge renovation, the road section from Theaterstraße to Hohe Straße will be renewed.
The bridge, which was built in 1869, was given a structural condition rating of 3.4 in the main bridge inspection in 2014, meaning that urgent action is required to renovate it. The fundamental renovation takes into account both the structural feasibility and practicability as well as the monument protection requirements.
The Kaßberg slip road is one of the main access routes to the Kaßberg district. According to the most recent traffic count from 2015, around 4,000 vehicles travel on the bridge every day in each direction, i.e. a total of 8,000 vehicles, including 400 cyclists. At peak times, 350 vehicles were counted travelling in each direction.
The diversion route for public transport during the construction phase is via Reichsstraße. The route or the alternative route along Fabrikstraße shown in the plan can also be used by cyclists. It is possible to pass under the bridge.
In the local transport network, the closure of the Kaßberg slip road will affect the city bus routes 62 and 72, which run every 20 minutes, as well as the night bus route N17. City bus routes 62 and 72 connect Gablenz with Kaßberg and the diversion route via Theaterstraße, Zwickauer Straße and Reichsstraße was chosen to deviate as little as possible from the original route. In particular, the chosen diversion route enables the bus to serve the well-used stops Roter Turm, Stadthalle and Innere Klosterstraße. Once the construction work at the central stop has been completed (expected 18 May 2018), the diversion route can be used in both directions. Until the construction work at the central bus stop has been completed, buses travelling in the direction of Kaßberg will use a different route via Bahnhofstraße to Falkeplatz.