About 26 years ago, work began on the new construction of the 178 federal highway in south-eastern Saxony. This Sunday, the penultimate section of the expressway will be handed over, which will connect the border triangle near Zittau with the Autobahn 4 near Weißenberg. At a public festival, there will be an opportunity to test the newly completed new section between Oderwitz and Oberseifersdorf on bicycles or inline skates, according to the Zittau city administration.
From Monday, regular traffic will be able to use the approximately six-kilometre section. The Saxon Ministry of Infrastructure estimates the construction costs at around 57 million euros. The funds came from the fund for structural change in Saxony.
242 million euros invested so far
A total of around 242 million euros has been invested in the construction of the new federal highway in eastern Saxony. The first stage was the bypass for Zittau, which was opened in July 2000. A final section is still missing to make the route completely passable. The planning approval procedure is currently underway for the 5.8-kilometer section with a connection to the A4. The costs for closing the gap are estimated at around 120 million euros.
"The improved connection is enormously important in terms of our economic development, but also for everyone who has to commute every day or who wants to travel inland from the Czech Republic and Poland," said Zittau's Mayor Thomas Zenker (non-party). He described the new construction of the B178 as a "construction site of the century". Zenker expects the Free State to devote all its energy to obtaining planning permission and completing the missing northern section as quickly as possible.
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