Hesse: Partial construction freeze on the A49 construction site continues

Gießen/Stadtallendorf (dpa/lhe) - After the discovery of traces of explosives on the construction site of the Autobahn 49 in central Hesse, it is still not possible to work in the affected area.

Hesse: Partial construction freeze on the A49 construction site continues

Gießen/Stadtallendorf (dpa/lhe) - After the discovery of traces of explosives on the construction site of the Autobahn 49 in central Hesse, it is still not possible to work in the affected area. Only when the results of the sampling that has taken place in the meantime are available can a decision be made on how to proceed, "or whether and under what conditions the construction freeze will be lifted," said a spokesman for the Gießen regional council (RP).

The authority had ordered the partial construction freeze in May. Suspicious traces had previously been discovered in the excavated soil near Stadtallendorf - a former armaments site. Analyzes later confirmed that it was the explosive hexyl.

The gap closure of the Autobahn 49 in central Hesse has been under construction since 2021. The new route is controversial - in autumn 2020 there were violent protests by environmentalists against the necessary forest clearing.

The section of the autobahn in central Hesse is scheduled to be completed in 2024. Another section of the A49 was recently opened in northern Hesse - after eleven years of construction: traffic between Neuental and Schwalmstadt has been rolling since the end of June. The A49 is to lead from Kassel and the A7 to central Hesse to the future Ohmtal triangle with a connection to the A5.