Rader High Bridge funding gap threatens A7 bottleneck as first span nears completion and second remains unfinanced

Construction milestone meets funding uncertainty

In a few months, the first of two planned spans of the Rader High Bridge over the Kiel Canal will open to cars and trucks on the A7 motorway. The bridge replacement and accompanying six-lane widening from Rendsburg junction to the Büdelsdorf interchange, including demolition of the old bridge, is priced at nearly 900 million euros. The first structure accounts for 307 million euros of that and is, according to the state minister, on schedule and within budget. Yet the federal government has not secured funds for the second span, which is required to complete the full six-lane cross-section and avoid a severe bottleneck for years to come.

A warning from Kiel

Schleswig-Holstein transport minister Claus Ruhe Madsen (CDU) has written to federal transport minister Patrick Schnieder (CDU) urging that the money be made available. Dpa quotes the state minister as saying a half-finished bridge would be "an oath of disclosure" and that the project is a "completely planned and absolutely on-schedule flagship" that shows Germany can still manage large construction sites.

A half-finished Rader Bridge would be an oath of disclosure.

Madsen argues that postponing the second span would return the Rendsburg junction to its former status as a permanent bottleneck and a fixture in traffic bulletins. He also points to the effect of construction inflation, warning that any delay of two or three years would blow apart every cost framework and timeline.

It's as if a jumbo jet, just before touchdown on the runway, makes a 180-degree turn.

The minister adds that the bridge serves military mobility requirements: currently heavy transports exceeding 80 tonnes must detour via federal road B5 and the A23. While the first span removes that weight restriction, Madsen states that the goal of nearly unrestricted military mobility will be missed without the second structure.

Berlin's budget arithmetic

The federal transport ministry, asked by dpa, points to tight public finances. The ministry's statement notes that falling truck toll revenues (a consequence of the expected ramp-up of electric heavy vehicles), the general economic situation and the consolidation needs of the federal budget mean investments in federal trunk roads will remain at the level of earlier plans until 2030. At the same time, the construction price index for federal trunk road building has risen by almost 40 percent since 2021. The ministry says that even ongoing projects are not yet fully financed with the currently earmarked funds.

Nonetheless, the ministry stresses the project's priority: it will continue to work intensely with the federal motorway company, Autobahn GmbH des Bundes, to push for the "still urgent six-lane expansion of the A7 near Rendsburg, including the complete replacement of the Rader High Bridge."

The Federal Ministry of Transport will continue to press forward together with Autobahn GmbH des Bundes for the successful implementation of the still urgent six-lane expansion of the A7 near Rendsburg including the complete replacement of the Rader High Bridge.

What comes next

Traffic forecasts project over 60,000 vehicles a day on this high-performance corridor towards Scandinavia. Madsen, a CDU politician, reminds Berlin that a previous federal government decided on the six-lane expansion more than ten years ago for good reason. His protest letter warns that without the second span the new build will deliver no improvement over the situation before 2013, when the old bridge still operated without truck traffic restrictions. The second structure is scheduled for completion in 2031, but the funding decision is now the critical variable.