The Hochmosel Bridge is a planned highway

Highway

A highway is any public road. In American English, the term is common and almost always designates major roads. In British English, the term designates any road open to the public. Any interconnected set of highways can be variously referred to as a "highway system", a "highway network", or a...

 bridge

Bridge

A bridge is a structure built to span physical obstacles such as a body of water, valley, or road, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle...

 that traverses the Moselle valley near Ürzig

Ürzig

Ürzig is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Bernkastel-Wittlich district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.- Location :...

 and Zeltingen-Rachtig

Zeltingen-Rachtig

Zeltingen-Rachtig is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Bernkastel-Wittlich district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.- Location :...

 in Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

. The bridge is part of a new highway connection, the "Hochmoselübergang" or Federal Highway 50 (Bundesstrasse 50), to facilitate traffic between Belgian and Dutch harbors and the greater Frankfurt

Frankfurt

Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...

 area.

Construction

A proposal for the highway and bridge was first made three decades ago for strategic reasons during the cold war

Cold War

The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...

. The project was reactivated to link the Frankfurt area, specifically the Hahn airport

Frankfurt-Hahn Airport

-Cargo airlines:-Other facilities:AirIT Services AG, a subsidiary of Fraport, has its head office in Building 663 at Hahn Airport.-References:*Active Air Force Bases Within the United States of America on 17 September 1982 USAF Reference Series, Office of Air Force History, United States Air Force,...

, to the Belgian and Dutch harbors with updated plans drawn in the early 21st century.

The plan calls for a 1702.4 m long steel box beam bridge

Beam bridge

Beam bridges are the most simple of structural forms being supported by an abutment at each end of the deck. No moments are transferred through the support hence their structural type is known as simply supported....

 that crosses the river at a maximum height of 158 m. The width of the bridge will be 29.0 m to allow four-lane traffic. Ten monolithic pylons made from concrete will support the bridge; their height varies between 15 and 150 m. The estimated costs are 270 million euros. The project is to be completed by 2016.

Opposition

Opposition to the project is based on questions of its economical necessity and the negative ecological impact on the Mosel wine region. It is indicated that current available highway connections between the Belgian and Dutch harbors and Frankfurt are adequate, and the proposed highway with its bridge would not present a shortcut and thus would not be economically advantageous. More importantly, perhaps, is the concern that the "ungainly" bridge would destroy a historical cultural section of major significance within the Mosel wine region. The section is home to some of the finest and most historical vineyards of Germany A potential change in the local ecosystem will affect the premier riesling

Riesling

Riesling is a white grape variety which originated in the Rhine region of Germany. Riesling is an aromatic grape variety displaying flowery, almost perfumed, aromas as well as high acidity. It is used to make dry, semi-sweet, sweet and sparkling white wines. Riesling wines are usually varietally...

 areas of the Wehlener Sonnenuhr, Graacher Himmelreich, and Ürziger Würzgarten. International wine experts, among them Hugh Johnson, Jancis Robinson

Jancis Robinson

Jancis Mary Robinson OBE, MW is a British wine critic, journalist and editor of wine literature. She currently writes a weekly column for the Financial Times, and writes for her website jancisrobinson.com...

 and Stuart Pigott

Stuart Pigott

Stuart Pigott is a British wine critic and author who has lived in Berlin since 1993. Pigott mostly writes in German, and focuses on German wine...

, are opposing the project and fear that the unique microclimate responsible for the Mosel rieslings will be impacted.

Literature

• Joachim Naumann: Strelasundquerung und Hochmoselübergang“ – Description of the project (in German) at the Brückbausymposium Dresden, 2003

External links

• Government presentation Rheinland-Pfalz Government
• Webpage of opponents