Pastor Ralf Schwieger (60, right) and the residents of Friedrichswalde are fighting the planned diversion Photo: Olaf Selchow
By Isabel Pancake
This closure is a disaster for the residents of Friedrichswalde: instead of the usual six kilometers, they should drive more than 60 kilometers of detour!
From September 12, Landstraße 23 between Friedrichswalde and Joachimsthal (Barnim) will be completely closed due to renovation work. And that for a whole two months. Journey time without detour: seven minutes. Travel time with planned detour: 56 minutes!
Friedrichswald’s pastor Ralf Schwieger (60) to BZ: “We have many commuters who drive this route. The lockdown means a small catastrophe for us!”
Melanie Schweiger (50) and Karin Fedder (44) from the outpatient nursing service can no longer look after their customers Photo: Olaf Selchow
For example, for Melanie Schweiger (50) from the outpatient nursing service in Eberswalde. She says: “We have to hand our customers over to a nursing service on the other side during the full lockdown. The detour is too long.” This means financial losses for the nursing service…
Pastor Schwieger also expects losses. In terms of the number of visitors to his church services: “People from other communities actually like to come, especially on dates such as Thanksgiving, the Hubertus Mass or the motorbike church services.”
How the fire brigade and rescue services should pass the full closure or take a 60-kilometer detour with injured people – all unsolved!
The State Office for Roads in Brandenburg (LS Brandenburg) only says: “The emergency services are informed daily about the situation on the construction site and about opportunities to drive through.”
The protest banners on Landstraße 23 have not been successful so far Photo: Olaf Selchow
Pastor Schwieger thinks halfway blocking of the country road is the best solution. But the office declined due to lack of space.
Reference is made to guidelines “that serve to protect construction workers and road users”.