Yesterday a year ago at five in the morning the time had come: the long-awaited opening of the new railway bridge to traffic finally became reality after a year’s delay. The first drive was on a number 25 bus, and it wasn’t long before the first cars followed.
Expectations at the opening were high. According to the forecast at the time, up to 14,000 motor vehicles would use the new Danube crossing every day. A year later, however, the balance sheet paints a different picture. On average, around 7,000 drivers use the new bridge every day – and thus significantly fewer than the old one, over which around 15,000 cars rolled every day until it was demolished in 2016. Even on the previous peak day, “only” 10,600 vehicles were on the new Danube crossing.
The situation is completely different for cyclists, for whom the railway bridge is very popular due to the generous route. 80,000 cyclists were counted there in a peak month and 4,000 cyclists on a peak day. But why is it that motorists don’t share their enthusiasm? There are several reasons for this.
“Hasn’t existed for a long time”
On the one hand, there are the crossing situations at the entrances and exits at the bridge, which were heavily criticized especially in the initial phase, keywords being traffic lights and traffic jams on the Donaulände. Optimizations were the result, and the signs for the new railway bridge, which were not initially planned, were finally installed in February. However, the criticism has not died down completely with the measures.
On the other hand, with the demolition of the old railway bridge, the people of Linz and the commuters alike had to look for other routes – and apparently stayed true to them to some extent even after the opening of the new one. “People have gotten used to the fact that this bridge hasn’t existed for a long time,” says Linz Deputy Mayor Martin Hajart (VP), who is responsible for traffic. Large displacement effects on the bypasses of the Voest Bridge can be observed. These were opened in 2020.
The assessment from the office of Transport Councilor Günther Steinkellner (FP) is similar, which also speaks of a kind of “habituation effect” that is still reverberating. “The high level of popularity among cyclists will probably also be followed by more dynamic use by private transport in the long term,” Steinkellner expects, however, with an increase in car drivers. The railway bridge is already an “important mobility axis” in Linz, it is said, with the planned light rail lines, which, as reported, are to run over the bridge, their importance will continue to increase.
In any case, Hajart is pleased that the new railway bridge has been so well received by cyclists. Switching effects from cars to bicycles also play a role in the high usage figures, he says.
Facts and figures:
7000 cars roll over the new bridge every day, and thus only about half as many as over its predecessor, which was demolished in 2016. The old railway bridge was used by around 15,000 drivers every day, a value that the new one could not match even on its previous peak day (10,600 vehicles). The direction of travel to Urfahr is somewhat “popular” with motorized private transport: an average of 3,800 cars drive in the direction of Urfahr every day, and 3,200 in the direction of Linz.
4000 cyclists were counted on the New Railway Bridge on a peak day, and 80,000 cyclists in a peak month. This shows that the new railway bridge has primarily become a bicycle bridge, says Deputy Mayor Hajart.
400 meters long is the Danube crossing, which has a maximum width of 33.7 meters and a total weight of 24,900 tons (supporting structure plus steel structure). The pedestrian and cycle paths on both sides are each 4.5 meters wide. Due to planning errors, the new bridge was only completed a year later than originally planned, and it was opened to traffic in August 2021. Cost of the new bridge: 92 million euros.
Source: Nachrichten
