On the A45 near Siegen, the part of the Landeskroner Weiher viaduct leading towards Dortmund has been successfully brought to the ground. Almost 100 kilograms of explosives were used.
Burbach/Wilnsdorf – On the busy A45 in Siegerland, near the Hessian state border, another dilapidated bridge section has been blown up as part of a new construction project. With almost 100 kilograms of explosives, the 36 meter high and 377 meter long Landeskroner Weiher bridge collapsed on Sunday. It is the part of the bridge that led in the direction of Dortmund.
“The blasting went like a picture book,” summed up Blastmaster Eduard Reisch afterwards. The roughly 10,000 tons of concrete landed precisely on the designated area. When the weather was nice, numerous onlookers followed the blast from a safe distance.
The explosives expert’s command of “three, two, one, zero” came within the tight schedule and was four minutes late. Shortly before the last warning bang, with which animals are to be scared away from the danger area, unauthorized persons were discovered in the inner restricted area. Employees of the Federal Agency for Technical Relief quickly led them out.
The Westphalia branch of the Autobahn GmbH reported that no damage was caused by the vibration on the part of the bridge that runs parallel to the south. This is important because all traffic on the A45 will flow over this structure until the completion of the new partial bridge.
The expansion of the so-called Sauerland line is one of the largest construction projects on North Rhine-Westphalian motorways. There are 60 viaducts along the entire A45 route, which are to be gradually renewed. The Rinsdorf viaduct on the A45 between Wilnsdorf and Siegen-Süd was only blown up in February. The closure of the dilapidated Rahmede bridge near Lüdenscheid on the important north-south traffic axis, which has been in place for almost a year, is causing serious problems. It also has to be blown up – an exact date has not yet been set. dpa
