Turmstraße Construction Site

18/02/2022

The Turmstraße Bridge, as part of Bundesstraße 1a, has now been demolished, and a new bridge will be built. According to an expert opinion and an economic feasibility study (carried out by the City of Aachen), it was, unfortunately, no longer possible to renovate the bridge erected in 1971. The resulting change in traffic flow is set  to significantly affect RWTH Aachen University in many different ways – with consequences for motorists, public transportation users, cyclists, and pedestrians.

 

Since May 2, 2022, Turmstraße has been closed between Professor-Pirlet-Straße and Claßenstraße in both directions of travel. Four excavators were used to demolish the bridge one by one. At the same time, the railroad tracks under the bridge were uncovered, and the overhead lines were restored.

According to the city of Aachen, work on reconstructing the bridge are well underway. Following the necessary preparatory and finishing work, the steel girders for the new bridge were laid over two weekends. As this work took place around the track area, the railroad line in the affected area was closed on all weekends in March. During this period, trains terminated at Herzogenrath instead.

The entire construction project is scheduled for completion in December 2023. The City has planned for traffic to be routed around the construction site. For Alleenring, the immediate bypass goes via Claßenstraße, Seffenter Weg, Mies-van-der-Rohe-Straße, and Professor-Pirlet-Straße and is signposted in both directions. Templergraben is initially not part of the traffic rerouting concept and thus remains closed as part of the Living Lab project. The option of opening it at a later date remains.

This considerable interference with traffic flow has far-reaching consequences for RWTH Aachen University. Building access will be limited at times, and RWTH members should plan extra time to get to other buildings on campus or travel to RWTH – on foot, by bike, by car, or by public transportation.  RWTH is not involved in this construction project but is in close contact with the City of Aachen to keep these restrictions as low as possible and communicate them quickly and transparently.

The City of Aachen has created a web page with the latest updates on the construction project. Please note that the information is only available in German.

The City of Aachen has also created the following email address for questions before and during the construction work: turmstrasse-stadtbetrieb@mail.aachen.de.

You can also find questions and answers about the construction project here.