New Agra Bridge to be completed by the end of 2031

The dilapidated Agra Bridge on the Bundesstraße 2 in Markkleeberg is to be replaced by a new structure by the end of 2031. Transport Minister Regina Kraushaar (CDU) made this clear after the cabinet meeting in Dresden. She had previously informed the government about the current status of the bridge. "The planning for demolition and the planning for the replacement construction have already been initiated," said the Minister. If we stick closely to the original bridge construction, no new planning approval procedure will be necessary. However, there are other design options.

Work will begin next year

According to Kraushaar, the western section of the bridge will be demolished and renewed from 2027, followed by the eastern section from 2029. The new bridge should then be completed in 2031. The costs are estimated at around 50 million euros and will be borne by the federal government. A tunnel variant would have meant additional costs of 140 million euros, emphasized the Minister. There was no money for this and it would not be reimbursed by the federal government. In addition, the construction time for a tunnel would be extended by eight years.

Hennigsdorf steel like the Carola Bridge

There have been discussions about the condition of the Agra Bridge for many years. It was built in 1976 and contains so-called Hennigsdorf prestressing steel - a material that was also used for the collapsed Carola Bridge in Dresden. Since then, the Agra Bridge has been one of 19 bridges in Saxony under special observation. In order to relieve the pressure on the structure, only vehicles weighing up to 3.5 tons have been allowed to drive over the bridge since mid-November.

The 357-metre-long Agra Bridge is a bottleneck for traffic heading to Leipzig from the south. According to the ministry, around 30,000 vehicles pass over the bridge every day. It has long been restricted to a speed limit of 60 km/h.