16,500 tons
… is the weight of the new Linz railway bridge, which opened on August 28, more than five years after the old crossing began to be demolished. The steel structure of the 400 meter long bridge alone weighs 8,500 tons. The middle arch of the bridge weighs 2687 tons, the two front and rear arches each 2854 tons. A total of 45,000 square meters of corrosion protection was applied to save the new railway bridge the fate of its predecessor – which has practically rusted away under traffic.
It should also spare the Linzers the eternal waiting in traffic jams, but that only succeeded to a limited extent. Because despite the traffic opening on August 30th at 5 a.m., the traffic situation has only calmed down to a limited extent.
On the one hand, this is due to the fact that there are no signs, which results in orientation problems for drivers who are not familiar with the area, some of whom get lost in the bus lane, for example. The traffic management on the Linz side with only one right-turn lane is not ideal either. On the other hand, it is also due to the fact that a mega construction site still exists directly in front of the railway bridge on the Linz side, namely the one for the construction of the 109-meter-high quadrill on the tobacco factory area. Added to this is the construction of a furniture warehouse, on the roof of which the Blau-Weiß Linz stadium will be installed.
And the traffic jam will not change much in the coming year, as the renovation of the motorway bridge is planned. Although the two bypass bridges remain as an alternative, the traffic jam was the daily companion of the commuters even with the two new bypasses.
And it will take until 2024 for the Westring Bridge to be opened to traffic.
33.5 Grad
… it was the hottest day of the past year, which was – according to the city’s records – June 19th. In the days that followed, the violent hailstorms fell over Linz, causing damage amounting to millions. The city granted hail emergency aid amounting to 500 euros, which 397 people from Linz made use of. The coldest day was February 13th when minus 9.2 degrees were measured. Last year, five months were cooler than the long-term average, and the whole of 2021 with 10.9 degrees was an average of 0.5 degrees too warm.


3000 jobs
… are available in the tobacco factory when the expansion of magazines 1 and 2 is completed in 2022 and the “Linz beer” brewery is also in operation. After the completion of the 109 meter high Quadrill – this is planned for the year 2025 – more than 5000 people will work in the tobacco factory. That is almost 20 times as many as before the city of Linz bought the site. Speaking of the Quadrill: In addition to a hotel (Arcotel), it will also accommodate 8,400 square meters of living space and 18,000 square meters of office space.
600 Electro-Scooter
… are currently on the road in Linz – from the three providers “Tier”, “lime” and “kiwiRide”. Since the summer, the city has been sending its own park inspectors on patrol so that “game parking” at critical points on e-scooters is contained. According to the code of conduct that the city of Linz has drawn up with the rental companies, the city’s parking strips may remove improperly parked scooters at the rental company’s expense. By the way: In addition to scooters, you can also rent 400 bicycles at 42 stations in Linz. The bikes are rented – as with the e-scooters – via a dedicated smartphone app.


548,015 views
… has the polarizing and therefore (at least online) so successful tourism video “Linz is Linz” on YouTube (as of yesterday, 7 pm). As a reminder, the promotional video went viral in early August. With statements like “Linz is a bit racist”, “Linz is horrible”, “Linz is a city for seniors” and “We are the underdog. Outsiders were always welcome with us ”wanted – and could – provoke. Above all, SP Mayor Klaus Luger, who described the video as “completely unsuccessful” in an initial reaction. The reactions on the internet were also divided, with the positive predominating. In purely artistic terms, the video produced by Forafilm was convincing: the video made it into the finalists in the nominations for the State Prize for Economic Film, and it also received a trophy, a golden dolphin, at the Cannes Corporate Media & TV Awards 2021. In the coming year, at least the mayor wants to keep a close eye on whether the success is also reflected in increasing numbers of visitors and overnight stays.


147,270 people
… were vaccinated last year in Linz, of which 135,802 received the second dose and 79,212 received the third dose. So far, around 35,000 people have been vaccinated in the vaccination center in the New Town Hall. Around 37,000 people, around 800 classes and around 13,000 schoolchildren, had to be in quarantine in 2021 (including multiple secretions). Around 4,000 children and adolescents tested positive for Corona in 2021, and there were around 21,000 positive cases in Linz. The 15-person crisis management team in Linz cannot exactly know the number of tests, as there is no overview of all the tests carried out by rescue organizations, pharmacies, private companies, etc. What is certain is that around 3500 PCR tests are currently evaluated in Linz every day. And that in the period from July to November, 290,000 gurgle tests were evaluated for Linz as part of “Alles gurgelt”. The city’s costs for infrastructure (rents), material costs and personnel are in the single-digit million range. 50 additional posts were filled for contact tracing.


1000 years
… the tree that stands in the garden of Dietmar Prammer, the new SP city councilor for planning, is old. The linden tree has been a natural monument of the city since 1975. The house in St. Magdalena itself was built in 1887 as a residential house with an inn, planned by master bricklayer Franz Scharlinger from Steyregg, through the expansion of an existing garden parlor of the inn, which had been located in the opposite house up until then. In 1986 it was completely adapted as a residential building.
32,703 votes
… received SP city chief Klaus Luger in the mayor’s runoff election on October 10th, with 73.1 percent of the votes cast against VP candidate Bernhard Baier (12,044 votes). The turnout in the runoff election was 30.3 percent below that of the municipal council election (57.5 percent). Nine parties made it into the city parliament, the Linz municipal council has never been so colorful. However, the body was not colorless in the last legislative period either. In 2021, 102 parliamentary group motions alone were dealt with in the five municipal council meetings before the election.


330,000 square meters
… the area in Ebelsberg of the former barracks and the summer grounds on which apartments are to be built is large. Frötscher Lichtenwagner Architects ZT from Vienna emerged as the winners of the architecture competition of the WSF private foundation (affiliated with the XXXLutz Group) last year and presented their plans in autumn. In the first step, 800 apartments are to be built. A 22-story high-rise made of wood is also planned as an eye-catcher. A total of 1,600 apartments were built in Linz last year, and a further 4,440 were approved. Currently, 2,340 apartments are still under construction, and a further 2,300 are about to start.


Source: Nachrichten