The 300 or so inhabitants of the village of Wellaune are long-suffering: Three main roads meet in the small district of Bad Düben in the district of North Saxony. Construction work for a long-awaited bypass has now officially begun with a ground-breaking ceremony. "We are creating noticeable relief for the people of Wellaune," said Christian Hirte, Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister of Transport, on site.
According to the Saxon Ministry of Infrastructure, around 11,000 vehicles - ten percent of which are trucks - travel through Wellaune on the B2, B107 and B183a every day. From December 2027, they are expected to drive on a new road, for which the federal government is investing 14 million euros.
Preparations have been underway since August 2024 - including extensive archaeological excavations, which are still ongoing. Experts from the State Office for Archaeology found a settlement from the Bronze Age that is more than 3,000 years old. By the end of March, around 1,900 objects had been found in "unprecedented condition", said Saskia Kretschmer, the head of the department responsible.
