Microsimulation

“Traffic on the Linz side will increase”

The new suspension bridge will be opened to traffic in the fall. According to the experts, it will provide significant relief, especially in Urfahr.

(Bild: © Harald Dostal / 2024)

To outsiders, the impressive Westring Bridge - 306 meters long and 25 meters wide - looks as good as finished. But it's not quite like that, there's still a lot to do. However, the traffic opening date this fall is fixed.

In any case, those responsible agree on one thing: the Westring should bring significant relief to the inner-city road network. With the help of a traffic flow simulation, an attempt has now also been made to show how the traffic situation will be affected by individual measures such as the opening of the suspension bridge, the planned closure of the main square or the announced reduction in lanes.

Traffic figures will fall drastically in Urfahr
The effects will be most noticeable on the other side of the Danube around Rudolfstraße, as VP city deputy Martin Hajart confirms: "The opening of the Westring Bridge will drastically reduce traffic figures in Urfahr - in return, traffic in Linz along the Danube will increase until the final completion of the A26." Which will probably not please everyone, as the expected opening to traffic is not scheduled until December 2035. However, the microsimulations with a forecast for 2030 also show that although the Römerberg tunnel will remain efficient for a certain period of time, the construction of the Freinberg tunnel including the station junction and the construction of the west bridge including closing the gap to the A 7 will be essential in the long term.

Waldeggstraße: 60 percent less traffic
Asfinag spokesman Christoph Pollinger: " Without the A 26, around 62,200 vehicles would cross the Nibelungen Bridge every day in 2032. With it, it will be 38,800. Traffic on Rudolfstrasse will be reduced from 35,100 vehicles to 20,100. Traffic on Waldeggstraße will decrease by almost 60 percent: by 2032, only 23,600 cars will pass this road." The travel time between the city entrance (Urfahrwänd) and the main railway station will be reduced from the current 40 minutes at peak times to 5 minutes when the A26 is completed.