Heidkopf tunnel
 Heidkopf tunnelGerman Unity Tunnel
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| use | Road tunnel | |||
| traffic connection | Südharzautobahn A 38 | |||
| length | 1724 m | |||
| Number of tubes | 2 | |||
| construction | ||||
| building-costs | € 63 million | |||
| start of building | Late 2003 | |||
| business | ||||
| release | December 21, 2006 | |||
| location | ||||
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| Coordinates | ||||
| West portal | 51 ° 24 ′ 0 " N , 9 ° 58 ′ 58" E | |||
| East portal | 51 ° 24 ′ 18 ″ N , 10 ° 0 ′ 20 ″ E | |||
Map with all coordinates: 
The Heidkopftunnel , also known as the " Tunnel of German Unity ", is a 1724 m long structure on the southern Harz motorway A 38 Göttingen - Halle in Lower Saxony and Thuringia .
Geographical location
The Heidkopftunnel is located in the course of the motorway leading from the west from the valley of the Leine to the heights of the Eichsfeld . It is located with a gentle slope of its lanes on the north flank of the Heidkopf, a 353.6 m above sea level. NN high elevation in the triangle between the villages of Reiffenhausen , Rohrberg and Rustenfelde ; the highest point above the tunnel is 340.1 m above sea level. NN . To the west of its western portal is Reiffenhausen and to the south and northeast of the eastern one are Rohrberg and Rustenfelde.
history
Construction began at the end of 2003, officially on March 23, 2004. In April 2005, the southern of the two two-lane tubes was penetrated, the northern tube a few weeks later. The opening of the tunnel and the Drammetal - Breitenworbis motorway section was celebrated on December 20, 2006 with the then Federal Transport Minister Wolfgang Tiefensee , Thuringian Prime Minister Dieter Althaus and Lower Saxony Transport Minister Walter Hirche .
The tunnel construction cost around € 63 million.
At the beginning of 2020, the Hessian road construction authority announced a renovation of the tunnel from October 2020 to April 2021, during which each of the two tunnel tubes will be closed for three months. This measure had become necessary after an inspection of the concrete roadway parts revealed damage to the base course below.
Safety precautions
The tunnel has numerous safety systems in order to keep the damage to people and objects as low as possible in the event of an incident in one of the two tunnel tubes. At the west and east portal there is a usually unmanned control center, where the security systems are activated. In addition to the driveways, video cameras also monitor the entire double tube. In normal operation, the systems are controlled via remote maintenance; the control centers are only manned in the event of incidents.
A fire alarm system is located inside the double tube , which forwards incoming alarms to the fire brigade . In addition to this, visibility measuring devices are attached which register a deterioration in visibility in the tube.
There are two 60-meter-long emergency stop bays in each tunnel . If a car is parked there, this is automatically registered. The two tunnels are connected by five openings, two of which are passable. The passages are secured with fire doors. Emergency booths are located on the outside of the tunnels.
If a fire breaks out, it is possible to use a ventilation system to keep the escape route free of smoke for people in the tunnel. Arrows on the wall show the shortest route to the exit. In addition, loudspeaker announcements are switched, which are also broadcast on VHF frequencies in the car radio with a dedicated transmitter . For rescue workers, certain channels are amplified in the 2-meter BOS radio with this system , and mobile radio devices can also be operated in the tunnel.
The extinguishing water supply is ensured by above-ground hydrants in the tunnel, the access routes for rescue workers are located near both portals.
In the 2008 ADAC tunnel test , the Heidkopftunnel landed first in Germany. In a European comparison, it came second.
On Monday, April 25, 2016, the tunnel was closed for an indefinite period due to "serious technical problems with the monitoring technology in the tunnel". The diversion via the B27 and B80 is not entirely unproblematic due to the "winter spring 2016", especially for heavy traffic. The tunnel was opened again around 24 hours later, and the MDR reported a "failure of the ventilation system" as the reason for the closure.
criticism
Like the entire southern Harz motorway, the tunnel was controversial. The " Bürgerinitiative Leinebergland Süd" ( Citizens' Initiative Leinebergland Süd) took action against the planning approval decision , which also contained the tunnel , until the European Court of Human Rights . Even environmental groups protested.
Like the Rennsteig tunnel, the Heidkopftunnel was initially closed to the transport of dangerous goods . This was the result of an expert opinion commissioned by DEGES , which was responsible for the planning and construction management of the entire A 38 and thus also for the tunnel. This revealed that fatalities are to be expected in the event of an accident in the tunnel, but not on the bypass (source: Göttinger Tageblatt of December 13, 2006). This met with a lack of understanding in the affected region, as the A 38 and the tunnel were also justified by the high risk of accidents when driving through town.
On March 3, 2011, the Lower Saxony State Authority for Road Construction and Transport announced that a renewed report stated that, due to the low traffic volume of around 22,000 vehicles per day, no longer required a ban on the transport of dangerous goods. After minor technical retrofits, the approval for the transport of hazardous substances finally took place in January 2012.
Web links
- MDR reports ( Memento from August 25, 2004 in the Internet Archive )
- Citizens' initiative Leinebergland Süd
Individual evidence
- ↑ Bernd Schlegel: A38: The timetable for the rehabilitation of the Heidkopftunnel is available. In: HNA.de. March 2, 2020, accessed March 2, 2020 .
- ^ Göttinger Tageblatt, Eichsfelder Tageblatt, Göttingen, Eichsfeld, Lower Saxony, Germany: Technical problems - Heidkopftunnel closed at Friedland / Friedland / Region - Goettinger-Tageblatt.de. In: www.goettinger-tageblatt.de. Retrieved April 25, 2016 .
- ↑ http://www.goettinger-tageblatt.de/Nachrichten/Goettingen/Uebersicht/Heidkopftunnel-bald-fuer-Gefahrgut-frei “Heidkopftunnel soon for dangerous goods free”, article in the Göttinger Tageblatt, last accessed on May 28, 2011
- ↑ http://www.hna.de/nachrichten/landkreis-goettingen/goettingen/roehre-gefahrgut-offen-1565139.html "Tube open to dangerous goods", article in the HNA, last accessed on January 19, 2012