CDU complains about Senate's response on Köhlbrand Bridge truck weights

Hamburg's CDU party has lodged a complaint with the city's parliament president over the Senate's response to an inquiry about violations of weight restrictions on the Köhlbrand Bridge. The party's spokesperson for port policy, Antonia Goldner, called the Senate's answer "a blatant failure of control and transparency."

Since May, particularly heavy trucks weighing over 44 tons have been prohibited from using the Köhlbrand Bridge, a vital link connecting the western and eastern parts of the port. The CDU had specifically asked how often this rule is broken, but the Senate provided no figures, only stating in a previous response that the limit was "occasionally" exceeded. Goldner criticized this lack of data, especially since a measurement system already records vehicle weights, and the Senate indicated that a retrospective analysis of this data is possible.

The Senate stated that the measurement system was initially installed to assess the bridge's load, not to track traffic violations. However, they acknowledged that the data could be used for violation detection in the future. Discussions involving the Hamburg Port Authority, the police, and the interior authority are ongoing, but no final decisions have been made.

The existing Köhlbrand Bridge, built in the 1970s, is in poor condition, necessitating a new bridge to be constructed alongside it. This new bridge is expected to be completed by the end of the 2030s and will be higher to accommodate larger container ships at the Altenwerder terminal.