When the motorway bridge over the Rahmedetal on the Sauerland line A 45 had to be closed at the end of 2021, it hit North Rhine-Westphalia's most important economic region hard. Unlike many other dilapidated bridges, traffic here in the low mountain range cannot simply be diverted, but instead struggles through the narrow valleys in permanent traffic jams. More than 150 global market leaders have their headquarters here, as do medium-sized companies that depend on this bridge: transporting raw materials here and finished products away, all of this now takes far too long. Investments are being postponed, long-established companies are considering moving away, employees are quitting because it now takes them three times as long to get to work. And recruiting new skilled workers is hopeless: who wants to move here if you can't even get there? An endless column of trucks now rolls through Lüdenscheid day after day. Local residents are getting sick from the noise and dirt and are considering moving away. But who wants to buy their pretty little house when there is heavy traffic jams outside the door around the clock? When the bridge was built in 1968, 25,000 vehicles a day were planned and the sheet thickness and steel quality were calculated accordingly. But the bridge was last used by 64,000 people, 13,000 of them trucks. Now it is so dilapidated that the only option is to blow it up. But that is a complex task in mountainous terrain, the planning and practical preparations took a long time, and on May 7th the demolition will finally take place - and if all goes well, the new bridge will be built in five years and the cut-off region will be reconnected. Too long for Germany's third most important business location, say entrepreneurs. They have made constructive suggestions for diverting traffic and have received no response. Residents fear the decline of their homeland. They feel let down by politicians. What should happen now? The Rahmedetal Bridge has long been a symbol of Germany's infrastructure emergency. In North Rhine-Westphalia alone, 873 motorway bridges need to be renovated over the next ten years. "That worries me a lot," says North Rhine-Westphalia's Transport Minister Oliver Krischer. "We have a huge problem on our hands here, because the Rahmedetal Bridge is not the last one to have to be closed." The fact that motorways are a federal matter, but diverted traffic is then a state matter, does not make things any easier. A documentary that sheds light on the background to this bridge drama. And tells of people who do not understand why it is all taking so long, of entrepreneurs who want to save their businesses, of doers who want to speed up the construction and are getting to grips with it. ???? If you liked this video, give us a like! ______ ???? A film for The Story of Marion Försching. This film was produced in 2023. All statements and facts correspond to the status quo at the time and have not been updated since then. ______ ???? More documentaries in the ARD Mediathek: https://1.ard.de/yt_doku More documentaries on the topic: ???? How a motorway divides society - • Video ???? The A3 - Germany's busiest motorway - • The A3 - Germany's busiest... ???? The A40 - The Ruhr shortcut? - • The A40 - The Ruhr shortcut? Home... ???? Scrapping - Good for the economy, bad for the environment? - • Scrapping - Good for the economy, bad... ???? Car tires - A dirty billion-dollar business - • Car tires - A dirty billion-dollar... ______ #Motorway #Bridge #WDRDoku #Traffic #Traffic jam #Truck #Rahmedetal bridge