A Route to Hell? Anger is Aroused by the Plan for Germany Largest Highway

There is opposition to a plan to build Germany largest freeway because they believe the “monstrosity” will worsen noise pollution, increase emissions that damage the environment, and destroy biodiverse areas.

The plan is for expanding the A5 to 10 lanes in an area outside of Frankfurt, western city, at an estimated cost of 1.1 billion euros ($1.2 billion).

Supporters argue that it is required to handle anticipated traffic surges on one of Germany’s busiest freeway segments, but it has caused controversy in light of growing worries about the climate catastrophe.

Campaign group leader Hans Christoph Stoodt called the ideas “completely crazy” and added that they would result in a “monstrosity”.

“The Germany government has committed to making Germany climate-neutral by 2045… and the same government is planning a 10-lane motorway here,” according to him.

“We need to expand public transport and drastically reduce private, motorised transport driven by fossil fuels.”

The plan was outlined in a feasibility study that was ordered by the government-owned Autobahn GmbH, which is in charge of overseeing the nation’s highways. Campaigners forced the document’s public release only a few weeks ago.

Since then, authorities have made a point of emphasizing that they are still debating what to do.

The Berlin transport ministry stated that the study would only be taken into consideration and is not a final conclusion.

There are currently six or eight lanes along the impacted length, which is roughly 30 kilometers (18 miles) long and runs from a junction close to the city’s airport to the village of Friedberg to the north.

According to the report, the extension is necessary to handle impending increases in traffic volume.

The analysis predicts that by 2030, there will be over 200,000 extra cars on the road every day, adding to the already congested traffic on the A5.

Apart from the possible increase in pollutants, Stoodt enumerated numerous other issues that would arise from expanding the route.

The 69-year-old, who lives near the motorway in Frankfurt’s Griesheim neighborhood, stated that homes along the highway would need to be removed in order to provide room for additional lanes.

“It is too loud” group member Stoodt claimed that even with tall barriers lining the highway’s edge to block noise, the continuous rumbling of cars is already over permissible limits and would only get worse with an extension.

Living only 50 meters (160 feet) from the freeway, Stefan Gegner, the leader of the legal battle to compel Autobahn GmbH to make the study public, claims the noise from vehicles is already extremely loud.

He worries that if more lanes were built, the noise level would increase and the barriers would go closer to his home. For a number of years to come, the land would be used as a building site.

The 53-year-old remarked, “It’s just madness; you wouldn’t want to live there anymore.”

Because the proposed extension passes through a region that serves as both a bird sanctuary and a source of drinking water, Stoodt is also concerned about the effects it would have on the local environment.

Nonetheless, the research states that expanding the road is not hampered by “insurmountable environmental obstacles”.

It concludes that the single alternative considered would “achieve sufficient capacity” to handle the anticipated increases in traffic on the motorway—widening it to ten lanes.

The federal government’s transportation plan also calls for widening portions of the A5, but the study’s recommendations go farther.

Authorities have sent forth contradictory statements.

Officials from Frankfurt, Germany have expressed their strong opposition to the 10-lane expansion.

Frankfurt is located in the state of Hesse, whose government has stated that it is not against the concept, but only if the road is enclosed in some way to muffle noise.

The FDP party, which supports freeways, leads Berlin’s transport ministry, which has the final say in everything transportation-related.

According to a ministry spokesman, consideration will also be given to aspects like noise, air pollution, and environmental effects in addition to traffic flow.

However, the expansion remains a possibility. It stated that a “overall concept” for any prospective widening will now be developed, accounting for the feasibility study in addition to other elements including updated traffic studies.