Substitute transit point

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Replacement crossing point Wehrden photographed from the opposite, right bank of the Weser
Signage of a replacement crossing point

A replacement crossing point is a larger paved or concrete area on one side of a river that is intended to replace a bridge and is built for military use, sloping towards the water, usually with a corresponding ramp on the opposite side. Such a ramp often leads very far below the waterline. Replacement crossing points were created in the Federal Republic, especially during the Cold War .

Such a replacement crossing point is popularly called a NATO ramp . A railway loading ramp is also used under the same name in some areas (mainly for armored units) in Bundeswehr jargon; The term "tank ramp" is also used in both meanings. The term “fire brigade ramp” is particularly heard on the Moselle.

Military use

In the event of a defense , NATO ramps should ensure the transport of tanks and other military vehicles with the help of amphibious vehicles , landing vehicles and makeshift bridges across the Rhine and other West German rivers. They were intended for pontoon and floating bridges, but partly also for river ferries.

Civil use

There were and are always spectacular heavy load transports , which - since they cannot use the route over bridges - are routed via these replacement crossing points. For example, at the end of March 2002, a Boeing 747 ("Jumbo"), dismantled into five parts, was transported in several stages from the Baden Airpark in Rheinmünster - Söllingen on its way to the Speyer Technology Museum, 100 km away, over the Söllingen NATO ramp for pontoon loading .

Since the removal of barrier chains, the so-called NATO ramps have offered the population a wide range of uses. They are primarily used in water sports as slipways for easy launching of folding and inflatable boats and for trailering motor boats as well as for starting and landing of jet skis (personal watercraft). Even anglers like to use the ramps as a seat.

Especially in the summer months, however, the increasing number of camping on the NATO ramps often leads to problems. For example, the nature conservation association and municipal administration of Rheinmünster (Upper Rhine) complain about the local NATO ramp Söllingen, despite the existing bans, not only of wild camping with overnight stays, which is accompanied by the accumulation of mobile homes, noise pollution, campfires and their remains, but also excessive feeding of water birds , garbage deposits and poor hygiene in the face of a lack of toilets and an increase in the infestation of rats with the consequence of damage to the banks.

The replacement crossing point in the Rheinaue near Wyhl gained particular fame as a meeting place due to the resistance of the population against the planned construction of the Wyhl nuclear power plant (KWS) in the immediate vicinity, where the planned, partly already deforested building site was occupied in February 1975. The memorial stone erected there on February 20, 2000 , a head-high chunk from the volcanic rock of the neighboring Kaiserstuhl , commemorates these events with the short engraved sentence “Nai hamm'r gsait” (we said no). The space at this memorial - as well as the area of ​​the replacement crossing point itself, if necessary - was repeatedly used by citizens' initiatives for events, rallies and commemorations.

Places with a substitute crossing point

There are several NATO ramps that are often used for water sports in the Federal Republic of Germany on various larger rivers, e.g. B .: