Duty Free Road (Riehen)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Duty Free Road Map

The Zollfreistrasse (also duty-free road ) is a 738 meter long connecting road in the Swiss municipality of Riehen between the two German cities of Weil am Rhein and Lörrach . It completes the federal highway 317 , which extends from Titisee-Neustadt to Weil am Rhein . Although it is located on Swiss territory and is owned by the Canton of Basel-Stadt, German road traffic law applies . After decades of postponement and protests by nature conservationists, the first construction work on the toll free route started in early 2006. The opening took place on October 4, 2013 by the regional council.

The construction of the road was particularly controversial in the canton of Basel-Stadt .

history

Zollfreistrasse information board at the hamlet of Wiesebrücke
Completed bridge over the meadow
State of construction of the tunnel on May 27, 2013 (northeast portal)

Since the 19th century, Basel's neighboring communities Weil am Rhein and Lörrach have been interested in a duty-free route along the Wiese River , as these two German communities did not have a direct road connection at the time. The road construction project was legally regulated in a state treaty between Switzerland and Germany in 1977 "in compliance with Articles 34 and 36 of the treaty of July 27, 1852 between the Swiss Confederation and the Grand Duchy of Baden regarding the continuation of the Baden railways across Swiss territory". In the following years, however, there were repeated delays and appeals proceedings against the project. Due to the impairment of the last floodplain river section of the meadow and difficult geological conditions in the "Schlipf" area of ​​the Tüllinger hill as well as doubts about the traffic-related necessity, the duty-free route was always controversial.

At the end of the 1990s, the road in Weil am Rhein was completed just before the Swiss border - except for the last section, the part on Swiss soil. When Germany wanted to start building this last stretch of road in 2004, the Regio ohne Zollfreistrasse (RoZ) association, led by the Basel doctor Martin Vosseler, organized resistance. As a symbol, the RoZ chose the kingfisher , which according to its information has its last refuge at this point in the canton of Basel-Stadt.

As opposition to the “duty-free”, numerous objections were submitted at all legal levels, statutes of limitations were objected to, trees were occupied and a cantonal referendum was even launched at the beginning of 2006, which was promptly adopted: The Basel population advocated the protection of the entire meadow river bank and the area Slip. Shortly before the vote, however, the forest on Swiss soil was cleared. Martin Vosseler went on a month-long hunger strike and held prayer three times a day in Basel's Leonhard Church. A critical minor inquiry from Eva Bulling-Schröter in the Bundestag came about through personal relationships .

Since the Swiss Federal Supreme Court rejected the renewed objection to the clearing permit on January 23, 2006, construction of the toll free route could begin.

The years of debate about the pros and cons could not prevent the construction of the toll-free route, but over the years the local decision-makers and the local population were made aware of the issue of nature and water protection in the meadow. All three regional authorities involved committed themselves to extensive ecological compensation measures, also because of the persistent protests. Some of these compensatory measures were laid down as early as the 1970s, and some were decided more recently.

On October 4, 2013 the road was finally opened to traffic. The day before, the population had the opportunity to walk down the street.

Subsequently, the connection of the Dammstraße to the B317 was realized as a roundabout and structural measures for noise protection were taken.

The swimming pool, which had to give way to the construction, was rebuilt on the tunnel cover as the Riehen natural pool and opened in June 2014.

See also

  • Duty Free Street, general article on duty free streets with further examples

literature

Web links

Commons : Duty Free Road  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b State Treaty of April 25, 1977
  2. ↑ The toll free route will open in both directions at the beginning of October. bz Basel, September 4, 2013, accessed October 3, 2013 .
  3. ↑ a b "Definitely an asset". Die Oberbadische, October 4, 2013, accessed on October 6, 2013 .
  4. ^ Sabine Ehrentreich: Walkers inaugurate duty-free street. Badische Zeitung, October 3, 2013, accessed on October 3, 2013 .
  5. ^ Dam: Schäfer: 2014 start of construction for the roundabout. Badische Zeitung, October 5, 2013, accessed on October 6, 2013 .
  6. ↑ Basel: Enrichment: The Riehen natural pool is open. In: badische-zeitung.de. Retrieved June 16, 2014 . . Ralph Schindel : A pearl for Riehen . In: Jahrbuch z'Rieche , 2014, pp. 86–89.

Coordinates: 47 ° 35 '39.2 "  N , 7 ° 38' 51.2"  E ; CH1903:  615715  /  271524