The river Elbe crossing in the Port of Hamburg is at the end of its operational life and should be replaced, says the city’s senate.
The Hamburg senate has recommended a replacing the Köhlbrand Bridge with a crossing that has higher clearance for larger container ships. The present cable-stayed bridge has a clearance of 53m. The new bridge will be open for traffic from 2040. Until this time, the existing bridge will be maintained and kept in use.
The Köhlbrand Bridge was built in 1974 and is crossed each day by 35,000 vehicles. It is the second longest road bridge in Germany but is not open to pedestrians or cyclists.
