Albaufstieg (A 8)
The Alb ascent of the Federal Motorway 8 is a 16 km long Alb ascent located in Baden-Württemberg on the northwest flank of the Swabian Alb .
This leads from the foothills of the Alb near Kirchheim unter Teck up to the Swabian Alb, between the Aichelberg exit and the Hohenstadt temporary connection it overcomes around 380 meters in altitude in two steps . In the opposite direction of travel, this section is called the Alb descent . As a special feature, the two directional lanes of the upper ascent step are divided into two parallel valleys. Such a separation is otherwise only found on the A 9 at Hienberg on German motorways .
course
First level at Aichelberg
The first, three-kilometer ascent on the Albtrauf , the north-westerly steep drop in the Swabian Alb, runs with a height difference of 200 meters between the Aichelberg exit and the 500-meter-long Mausobel Viaduct. In the further, seven-kilometer-long course through a high valley and then through the valley of the Hollbach to the upper Fils , it drops in the Gruibingen area by around 50 meters.
At the Mühlhausen junction , the directional lanes share in order to overcome the difference in altitude of 230 meters to the plateau of the Swabian Alb on separate routes with two lanes each up to two kilometers apart.
Second stage Drackensteiner slope
The 6.4-kilometer section of the Stuttgart → Ulm carriageway (northwest-southeast direction) runs from a bridge over the Fils (directly northeast of Mühlhausen) uphill to the Todsburgbrücke (371 meters), which is located on Steinbühl mountain ( 797 m above sea level) ) near the Todsburger Höhle . It then continues uphill over the Malakoff Bridge (150 meters) and through the Lämmerbuckeltunnel (625 meters) to the Hohenstadt temporary connection . The motorway reaches the highest point, here again with parallel lanes for both directions, then about one kilometer after the exit at 785 m above sea level. NHN , where it crosses the main European watershed (Rhine / Danube).
The 5.7 kilometer long section of the Ulm → Stuttgart carriageway (south-east-north-west direction) runs downhill from the Hohenstadt temporary exit along the Drackensteiner Hang, passing through the Nasenfelstunnel (60 meters) and over the Drachenlochbrücke (230 meters) and the Himmelsleiterbrücke (100 meters) and the Fischerhäuslebrücke (250 meters) to a bridge over the Fils (west of Gosbach ). On this section of the route there is a speed limit of 50 km / h for trucks and 80 km / h for other vehicles, which is monitored at the beginning of the slope.
Reason for the separation of the directional lanes
The directional lanes of the upper level of the Alb ascent and Alb descent on the Drackensteiner Hang had to be separated because it was not possible to run a four-lane motorway along just one mountain slope. At most, two lines could have been built one on top of the other, but this would have resulted in significantly higher costs and greater incisions in the landscape than the separate lines.
history
Establishment
On both the Drackensteiner Hang and the Aichelberg, a one-way carriageway was initially built in 1936 and 1937. The road in the opposite direction on the Aichelberg was completed in 1938, on the Drackensteiner Hang the separate ascent road was built from 1938 to 1942, until work had to be stopped due to the war. The Lämmerbuckeltunnel located on this section was used as an armaments factory from 1942 to 1945. After the war, the climb was completed from 1955 to 1956. The Drackensteiner Viaduct was designed by Paul Bonatz .
Destruction at the end of the war and reconstruction
On April 20, 1945, the Franzosenschlucht Bridge and the Aichelberg Viaduct were blown up by the Wehrmacht. These gaps were initially closed by wooden temporary bridges until the damage was repaired in 1951.
In response to the Berlin blockade and the Cold War , the Federal Ministry of Transport decided on November 24, 1953 to set up so-called “Berlin milestones” on the motorways in the direction of Berlin. On the Drackensteiner slope, a few kilometers before the Alb descent and directly at operating kilometer 144, one of these stones from 1954 has been preserved.
Expansion on the Aichelberg
From 1985 to 1990 an extensive renovation was carried out on the Aichelberg. This became necessary after the old route was notoriously overloaded and the narrow curve radii and steep inclines made it a hotspot for accidents. In addition, the Aichelberg Viaduct was in a very poor condition and ultimately had to be supported by wooden beams. During this conversion, a deep aisle between Turmberg and Speller, a green bridge , a dam and two new bridges had to be built to defuse this section. The line was expanded to six lanes.
Planned new building on Drackensteiner slope
overview
In order to meet the increased volume of traffic on Albauf- and Albabstieg, to a shorter, according to the original plans toll paid route between the junction Mulhouse and the height Widderstall (between Behelfsanschluss chief town and port Merklingen ) to be built, also known as e-route designated becomes. The planning for this was completed in 2005, the costs were put at 405 million euros. The construction was to be financed by a private investor who would have received the toll income in return. The plan approval procedure for the Albaufstieg was stopped in 2005, shortly before its completion, in order to clarify the financing. The federal government planned a special toll for this section, but no investor was found for the route, among other things because a toll-free parallel route was to belong to the corridor. However, a feasibility study at the beginning of 2008 came to the conclusion that this financing model was not profitable. The start of construction for the new line was uncertain.
In mid-2014, the federal government ordered the continuation of planning for the section between Mühlhausen and Hohenstadt. Construction could start in 2018. The costs for this should amount to at least 500 million euros (as of 2014). Baden-Württemberg's transport minister, Winfried Hermann, expected the entire motorway between Karlsruhe and Munich to have six lanes by 2025. After revising the plans, it was planned in 2015 to complete the plan approval procedure at the end of 2017. The new construction of the 8.3 km long Alb ascent should not start before 2019. At the end of 2017, the Federal Ministry of Transport signed the planning documents of the Baden-Württemberg road construction administration, paving the way for the continuation of the plan approval procedure, which was stopped in 2005. After making changes to the plan documents, the plan approval process was continued in June 2018. At that time, the earliest possible start of construction was 2021 and the earliest possible traffic opening was 2026. Before the discussion, more than 3,000 objections to the plans had been received by the regional council. The public hearing took place on September 26, 2019 in Gruibingen . A citizens' initiative accused the regional council of not seriously examining the alternative K-route it had proposed . This provides for a continuation of the six-lane expansion beyond the Hohenstadt junction, where the existing road is to be abandoned and the motorway is to be guided in a tunnel between the two old lanes. A bridge is to be connected to this and the Mühlhausen junction will be reached via it. The regional council stated that the K-route had curve radii that were too tight and steep gradients and was geologically problematic. After the public hearing, the regional council was initially unable to name a point in time for the completion of the plan approval procedure, which was originally planned for the end of 2019.
The new motorway is to have three lanes in each direction, plus hard shoulder ( standard cross-section 35.5). The construction of two viaducts (Filstalbrücke and Gosbachtalbrücke) and two new tunnels (Himmelsschleife tunnel and Drackensteiner tunnel) are planned for the new route. The tunnels are to have a cross-section that will allow traffic in the other four lanes to be maintained when one tube is closed. The construction time for the new line is estimated at around five years. The old directional lane to Stuttgart is then to be recultivated, and the use of the route as a cycle path is being considered. The old ascent route is to be retained as a state road for traffic with oncoming traffic.
Filstal Bridge
The Filstal Bridge will be 801 m long and up to 52 m high. It should consist of two separate superstructures (center distance constant 32.5 m), which are each 18 m wide (between railings). A haunched girder bridge is intended as the design .
Sky Loop Tunnel
The Himmelsschleife tunnel is to be built 1170 m long and using a closed construction method. Its two tubes are built by mining as a basket arch in the cross-sectional shape. The excavated volume is 480,000 m³ with a 205 m² excavated cross-section. This tunnel receives a special construction to limit the pressure in case of karst floods.
Gosbach valley bridge
The Gosbachtal bridge will be 462 m long and run up to 71 m above the valley. The bridge will consist of two separate superstructures (center distance between 19 and 38 m, each 18 m wide with railing). An arched bridge with elevated roadway is planned as the design.
Drackenstein tunnel
The Drackenstein tunnel is to be built 1670 m long and in closed construction. Its two tubes are built by mining as a basket arch in the cross-sectional shape. The excavated volume is 685,000 m³ with a 205 m² excavated cross-section.
Separate construction projects
These two construction projects do not belong to the aforementioned new construction project on the Albauf and Albabstieg of the A 8:
Gruibingen tunnel
Preparatory work for the 540 m long, single-tube “Gruibingen Tunnel” near Gruibingen , which was financed by the federal government, had been in progress since November 30, 2005 . The actual construction began in autumn 2008 and was originally supposed to be completed by mid-2012. It was built in a top-down, rectangular, open-plan manner. The excavated volume was 13,000 m³ with a 21 m² excavated cross-section. The purpose of the tunnel is to provide noise protection for the village of Gruibingen, which is directly south of the motorway. For this reason, only the southern carriageway was designed as a tunnel, the northern carriageway remains open. April 21, 2012 was “Open Tunnel Day” for the population. The tunnel has been completed and opened to traffic since January 2013.
High-speed rail line
In parallel to the existing Albauf and Albabstieg of the autobahn, Deutsche Bahn is also building a Albauf and Albabstieg for high-speed traffic as part of the new Wendlingen – Ulm line project , Section 2.2. The first preparatory construction work began at the end of 2010, and commissioning is planned for December 2022.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Archive for Autobahn and Road History. Retrieved April 26, 2017 .
- ↑ a b Federal government doubts the toll model for Albaufstieg. In: Geislinger Zeitung. March 4, 2008.
- ↑ a b c Michael Petersen: The Albaufstieg is making progress . In: Stuttgarter Zeitung . tape 70 , no. 149 , July 2, 2014, p. 1 (similar version online ).
- ↑ Annette Mohl, Josef Schunder: Construction of the Alb ascent from 2019 at the earliest . In: Stuttgarter Nachrichten . No. 195 , August 25, 2015, p. 1 .
- ↑ Federal government approves planning for Albaufstieg on the A 8. In: vm.baden-wuerttemberg.de. Ministry of Transport Baden-Württemberg, December 22, 2017, accessed on December 22, 2017 .
- ↑ The regional council continues the planning approval procedure. In: Südwest Presse . June 13, 2018, accessed January 31, 2020 .
- ↑ Johannes Fischer: A 8-Albaufstieg: How does it go on? (PDF) Regional Council Stuttgart, Department 4 - Road Construction and Transportation, June 6, 2018, p. 34 , accessed on August 31, 2018 .
- ↑ Philipp Braitinger: The expansion of the A 8 meets with resistance. In: Stuttgarter Zeitung . September 26, 2019, accessed January 31, 2020 .
- ↑ a b Andreas Pflüger: A compromise line is not in sight. In: Stuttgarter Nachrichten . October 6, 2019, accessed January 31, 2020 .
- ^ Stuttgart-Ulm rail project
literature
- Martin Hahn: "Germany's most beautiful motorway route". The ascent / descent of the Autobahn Alb on the Drackensteiner slope. In: Preservation of monuments in Baden-Württemberg. 42nd year 2013, issue 1, pp. 41–43 (PDF)
- Roland May : Pontifex maximus. The architect Paul Bonatz and the bridges. Monsenstein and Vannerdat , Münster iW 2011, ISBN 978-3-86991-176-2 , pp. 344–347, 548–550, 627–629.
- Arend Vosselman: Reichsautobahn - beauty, nature, technology . Kiel 2001.
Web links
Coordinates: 48 ° 32 ′ 30 " N , 9 ° 38 ′ 54" E