The bridge on Horbacher Straße in the Richterich district over the Aachen-Mönchengladbach railroad line is being renewed by the North Rhine-Westphalia road construction authority (Straßen.NRW). The demolition and new construction of the bridge is expected to last until fall 2027. During this time, Horbacher Straße will be closed in the area of the bridge. All traffic will be diverted.

Straßen.NRW and the City of Aachen will be holding an information event about the construction work and the official detour routes. The event entitled "Horbacher Straße: Demolition and new construction of a bridge" will take place on Wednesday, June 25, from 6 to 8 p.m. in the auditorium of the Laurensberg school center at Hander Weg 89 in Laurensberg.

By the first closure of the Aachen-Mönchengladbach railroad line in January 2026, the road in front of and behind the bridge as well as the abutments of the bridge on both sides of the railroad line are to be demolished. The bridge over the tracks will then be demolished in January 2026, with the railroad line fully closed. This will be followed by construction work on the new bridge away from the railroad line. According to Straßen.NRW, the bridge over the tracks will be rebuilt from spring 2027. The railroad line will also be fully closed again during this time.

Straßen.NRW's construction work on the Horbacher Straße bridge is scheduled to begin in mid-July 2025 at the earliest, i.e. at the start of the summer vacation when there is less traffic. Mayor Sibylle Keupen and representatives of Autobahn GmbH and Straßen.NRW agreed on this. Previously, construction had been expected to start at the beginning of July. The current construction work on Berensberger Straße in Richterich can be completed by the start of construction work on the Horbacher Straße bridge.

At the invitation of Lord Mayor Sibylle Keupen, City Planning Councillor Frauke Burgdorff, the Head of the Mobility and Transport Department, Uwe Müller, and Marc Hamblock, the Head of the Road Traffic Authority of the City of Aachen, as well as representatives of Autobahn GmbH and Straßen.NRW met at Aachen City Hall on June 11 to find ways to reduce the impact on users of the Horbach Bridge as much as possible in the short time available. At this meeting, they discussed how the detour routes for motor vehicles associated with the construction of the new bridge could be designed.

An important part of the discussion was an additional detour route for motor vehicle traffic via the A4 highway. The framework conditions for this option are currently undergoing final examination. Mayor Sibylle Keupen, who was very keen to find solutions in the short time available, commented: "I am very pleased that we were able to reach an agreement with Strassen.NRW and Autobahn GmbH to jointly initiate everything necessary to implement an additional detour via the freeway parking lot on Vetschauer Weg to the freeway in the direction of Krefelder Straße in the near future. This could help to noticeably relieve the burden on the Vetschau district."

Strassen.NRW has also promised to ensure the renovation of Rathausstrasse in Laurensberg, which is important for the detour, until the bridge closure begins.