Vegesacker Hafen: Bridge remains closed - uncertain future for ships!

Vegesacker Hafen: Bridge remains closed - uncertain future for ships!

In the Vegesacker Hafen in Bremen, the future of the harbor bridge is on the bridge. For safety reasons, the steel pedestrian folding bridge, which was built in 1999 and has a length of 42 meters, was closed for an indefinite period. This reports weser-kurier . The bridge, which was unpopular from the start, had been struggling with technical problems for a long time. Ultimately, an engineering company found that it can no longer be opened safely.

The chairman of the Maritime Tradition Vegesack (MTV) Nautilus, Thomas Rutka, demands a quick solution to the ailing bridge. Bremen (WfB) economic development suggests that a last opening of the bridge on July 19 should take place to let ships out. However, this passage takes place at your own risk, and Hübner, managing director of the historical blogger "BV2 Vegesack", criticizes the bridge as a misconstruction and is already looking for a new berth. He fears that ships like the "vegesack" could disappear from the harbor permanently.

The current state of the bridge

The bridge has defective screws and shows signs of warehouse damage in the folding mechanism. Regular building tests were commissioned as early as November 2024, and a scaffolding for controls remains at the bridge bearing. Var on-site controls after each opening are necessary to ensure the safety of pedestrians. Nevertheless, it is still possible for pedestrians to pass the bridge in the closed state without hazardous risk of collapse. However, cyclists have to descend and push the bridge.

About half of the ships in the port are not affected by the bridge problem. But for berth users who rely on an opening of the bridge, there is the option of terminating their place without notice. Talks about a dismantling of the bridge are already running between the WFB and those affected, whereby Rutka and Hübner even suggest to remove the middle section of the bridge and thus close it without replacement.

the economic and ecological challenges

The WFB regrets the inconvenience and emphasizes that the security of the citizens is top priority. The future challenges of climate change will also be pointed out. The adaptation of the port infrastructure could be necessary to meet the climatic influences such as storms and sea level increases. The Environmental Federal Agency discusses that such adjustments are often associated with high investments and can also bring economic effects in the long term. Be it higher costs or specific structural measures - the entire port infrastructure must adapt to the new circumstances.

The Situation is therefore challenging: While security requires immediate measures, at the same time queuing longer -term plans for adapting to climate change. Until a final decision over the bridge, the future of the Vegesacker harbor remains uncertain. In the meantime, it remains to be seen which solutions can be found for the bridge and the port.