Blasting of the Salzbachtal bridge on the A66 near Wiesbaden on Saturday afternoon | Regional
Goosebumps moment in the Wiesbaden region: the Salzbachtal bridge has been blown up!
The A 66 motorway bridge ran over the B263 and several railroad tracks. For many residents and commuters in the Rhine-Main area, the demolition of the ailing structure was a glimmer of hope.
In mid-June 2021, the 58-year-old Bröckel Bridge suddenly had to be closed: 66 cracks in the pillars had been discovered, chunks of concrete had come loose and fell. Risk of death!
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The closure led to daily traffic jams lasting for hours. Useful 80,000 vehicles cross the bridge on working days. These have been redirected for months. Wiesbaden’s main train station was also completely decoupled from rail traffic, as the important rail line running under the bridge could no longer be used by trains.
The 300-meter-long Salzbachtalbrücke runs over the Wiesbaden district of Biebrich, the B 263 and several railway tracks, right next to it is a sewage treatment plant
Roadblocks on blast day
Friday, November 5th, from 6 p.m .: B 263 in the direction of travel south (until Sunday, November 7th, 10 a.m.)
Saturday, November 6th, 8 a.m. – 3 p.m .: Blocking of the B 263, the extension of Mainzer Straße southwards to the Amöneburg roundabout.
Coming from the A 66, traffic is diverted at the Erbenheim junction via the B455 to Erbenheim or Kastel.
Coming from the A 671, the Amöneburger roundabout and Mainzer Strasse are diverted towards Kasteler Strasse.
The Amöneburg roundabout is part of the escape route concept for the blasting. Therefore, major traffic obstructions must be prevented there and further closures may occur.
Traffic from the city center on Mainzer Straße will be diverted to the 2nd Ring at the level of the leisure pool, either into Siegfriedring towards B 455 or into Theodor-Heuss-Ring towards Biebricher Allee.
B 263 bypass: East via Siegfriedring, B455 and Boelckestraße, west via Theodor-Heuss-Ring, Biebricher Allee, Kasteler Straße, Mainzer Straße, Amöneburger Kreisel and A 671 – coming from the south in the opposite direction. The diversions are signposted.
Bypass the A66: north via the junction Erbenheim, B455, second ring and Biebricher Allee and south via the junction Erbenheim, B455, A671, Amöneburger Kreisel, Mainzer Straße, Kasteler Straße and Biebricher Allee – coming from the west in the opposite direction.
So the demolition went off
An area of 250 meters around the bridge was cordoned off. 140 people live leaving their homes. Before the detonation, the police use thermal imaging cameras to check whether there are still people there.
There was also a sewage treatment plant in the evacuation zone. So that it could not be damaged, several tons of sand were heaped up, and channels and pipes were reinforced with concrete.
Eduard Reisch has already blown up many large structures
The most important man that day was demolition manager Eduard Reisch (60). First it was supposed to explode the southern part of the 300-meter structure at 12 noon, and a few seconds later also the northern bridge. The south piers were supposed to collapse by means of collapse blasting, the north bridge then sink onto the rubble of the south bridge by means of tipping blasting.
It takes 221 kilos of explosives to make the bridge fall. 1124 holes were drilled and 1160 detonators were installed. It is finally being blown up electronically.
The demolition itself was over after a few seconds. Then heavy equipment moved in to crush and remove debris: 15,000 tons of concrete and steel!
What could have gone wrong?
Debris could damage surrounding buildings. In addition, the weather could have thrown the bill: heavy rain or fog could lead to the blast being called off. Then they would have tried again a day later (Sunday, November 7th). However, this will not be necessary: the demolition went as desired.
When is the traffic running again?
According to the Autobahn GmbH of the federal government, the plan is to “open the railroad tracks to the main station” before Christmas if possible.
A new bridge should be ready in 2023 at the earliest. The blocked passage of the A 66 from the Rheingau to Wiesbaden and on to Frankfurt will also cause traffic jams for a while.
