From Hildburg Bruns
She wants to say goodbye to wide aisles and create more air. Traffic Senator Bettina Jarasch (53, Greens) is shrinking two important Spree crossings in the heart of the city.
The planned new buildings of the Mühlendamm Bridge in the Nikolaiviertel and the Gertrauden Bridge over the Spree Canal are to shrink by five and nine meters respectively.
Traffic Senator Bettina Jarasch (53, Greens) Photo: Sven Darmer
“There were urgent suggestions to reconsider whether the plans are future-proof,” says Jarasch. “Because we won’t be rebuilding the bridges every few years.”
The historic Gertraudenbrücke is initially intended to shoulder pedestrian and bicycle traffic, the new Gertraudenbrücke will initially have two lanes from 2028 Photo: Ralf Gunther
What’s next?
The two bridges will have different lane divisions – depending on the phases of the tram expansion and the development of the hoped-for decrease in car traffic.
In 2028, the tram should roll in the middle of the new Gertraudenbrücke. Initially, there are two car lanes in each direction (40,000 vehicles/day) and a cycle lane and sidewalk on one side. On the other side, pedestrians and cyclists can use the separate historical Gertrauden Bridge Photo: BILD, infographic
The bottleneck, however, will be the construction period: During the years 2024 to 2028, traffic will be routed through one half, while the other half will be demolished and replaced.
The Mühlendamm Bridge is constructed like the Elsen Bridge (Treptow). It is checked optically and acoustically for tearing tension cables Photo: Christian Lohse
► New Gertrauden Bridge (opened in 1978 with a length of 35 meters and a width of 34.10 meters): The architectural competition for the new building will be announced soon. The specification: a narrower width of 29.25 meters. But right from the start with a separate bike path (eastern side) and two car lanes/direction. On the other side of the street, pedestrians and cyclists cross the historic, upgraded Gertrauden Bridge (built in 1895).
The two bus lanes will disappear as soon as the tram rolls from Alex via Leipziger Straße to Potsdamer Platz from mid-2028. The senator’s desired goal: once the turnaround in traffic has been achieved and fewer cars are rolling, she believes that they only need one lane in each direction. That would mean that traffic would have to shrink from 40,000 to 20,000 vehicles!
► Mühlendamm Bridge (opened in 1968 with a length of 116 meters and a width of 45.20 meters): It narrows to 36.20 meters and should also only have 2 vehicle lanes at the end.
