A 544
After less than 20 months of construction, traffic is once again flowing in both directions over the A 544 Haarbachtal Bridge. The 157-metre-long viaduct was officially opened on 8 September 2025 in the presence of numerous representatives from politics, business and administration.
To the press release from Autobahn GmbH
On Sunday, September 7, 2025, a citizens' festival entitled "Open Bridge Day" took place on the Haarbachtal Bridge from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. At the invitation of Autobahn GmbH, thousands of visitors took advantage of this extraordinary opportunity to walk, cycle or eat ice cream on the new highway bridge.
Construction measures
Cracks in the concrete deck of the Haarbachtal bridge, built in 1956, had caused its tendons to corrode severely. Regular structural inspections were carried out in 2023 to check the safety of the bridge. The outbound lane towards Cologne had been closed since July 24, 2023. It had been closed in both directions since January 15, 2024. The bridge was blown up on January 30, 2024. The new Haarbach Valley Bridge was built in just under twenty months at the same height and position. It consists of two partial structures. The respective cross-section was extended by a state-of-the-art hard shoulder. In the event of a future renovation, a full closure will therefore no longer be necessary.
The Auf der Hüls bridge has been completed
In November 2024, Autobahn GmbH announced that the Auf der Hüls bridge, a second bridge on the A 544, was so badly damaged that the structure would have to be renovated or replaced. As renovation would only have extended the bridge's service life by a few years, Autobahn GmbH decided to also have the "Auf der Hüls" bridge rebuilt in the shadow of the construction work on the Haarbachtal bridge. This was also successful.
The Haarbach Valley: renaturation has begun
The Haarbach valley is also an important landscape conservation area for local recreation, with numerous protected biotopes. The valley is of particular importance in terms of both the urban climate and the biotope network. In order to protect the Haarbach, Autobahn GmbH has relocated 160 meters of the stream during construction. The soil in the area of the construction site is worth protecting. They were removed or temporarily stored for the construction period of the highway bridge and will be reinstalled in the coming months.
Interventions in the vegetation were necessary in preparation for the new construction. Suitable replacement nesting sites were created for a population of bats whose habitat was located in the bridge supports. All measures were subject to approval and were approved.
Now that the bridge has been completed, the landscape will be restored to its original state over the next few months.
Important information:
The footpath and cycle path between Haaren and Eilendorf (Haarbachtalstraße/Nirmer Weg) below the new highway bridge will remain closed for the next few months due to the renaturation of the Haarbachtal valley for reasons of road safety. There is still a lot of construction site traffic in the immediate vicinity. The work is expected to last until spring 2026.An officially signposted detour route for pedestrians and cyclists is still signposted in both directions. It leads from Haaren via Haarbachtalstraße, Reuterweg, Gärtnerstraße, Haarener Gracht, Kahlgrachtstraße to Nirmer Weg. However, there are also other routes around the roadworks that can be used.
The organization
Thematic working groups supported the implementation of the new replacement construction. They included representatives of Autobahn GmbH, the city of Aachen, the city of Würselen, the StädteRegion, ASEAG and Straßen.NRW. The groups agreed on how traffic technology and detour should be regulated, which measures the traffic authorities should take and how communication should take place.
Resident protection concept Haaren
The Haaren district was particularly affected by the closure due to its location. To accompany the closure, Autobahn GmbH had two traffic lights installed on Alt-Haarener Straße (towards the city center, just before the A4 freeway bridge) and on Haarener Gracht (towards Haaren, just after the A544 freeway bridge). The traffic lights should help to shift some of the traffic from Haaren to the highway and thus reduce traffic in Haaren itself. A special bus lane was also set up with the installation of the gateway traffic lights on Alt-Haarener Straße. This should significantly speed up bus traffic.
The two gateway traffic lights will be dismantled after the A 544 is reopened. The bus lane between Würselen and Haaren will also be removed. Special traffic routing within Haaren has also been withdrawn.
In the longer term, two measures will remain in place that were introduced as a result of the closure of the A 544 and the associated resident protection concept, but which have proven their worth in terms of traffic safety and control. These are the one-way street in Akazienstraße between Auf der Hüls and Haarbachtalstraße as well as a barrier on Akazienstraße at Haarbach level.
Traffic information
Drazen Zigic
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Information in committees
Autobahn GmbH and the City of Aachen have provided regular updates on the status of the project since the A 544 construction project was announced. Information was provided to the Aachen City Council, the Mobility Committee and the district councils of Aachen-Brand, -Eilendorf, -Haaren and -Mitte. The Chamber of Industry and Commerce was involved and informed its companies together with Autobahn GmbH and the experts from the municipalities.