The car is the main means of transport for people in Wolfsburg. On average, 60 percent of all trips are made by car. For daily commuters and visitors, the percentage of total traffic is as high as 90 percent. In connection with the creation of new construction areas such as Sonnenkamp, Steimker Gärten or Hellwinkel Terrassen, traffic will also continue to increase. It is therefore necessary to review and, if necessary, reorganize the traffic situation for motor vehicle traffic. In the southeast area of Wolfsburg, there are already a number of bottlenecks where backups form during rush hours due to the high volume of traffic. The focal points are Nordsteimker Strasse and the Sandkrug intersection, which in their current condition no longer meet traffic demand. With the new construction areas and the general annual increase in traffic, the situation here will continue to deteriorate.
Template V 2017/0274
Due to the limited expansion possibilities, numerous variants were examined for the L 290 between the districts of Reislingen and Neuhaus, which reflect different solution approaches for an efficient traffic routing. Due to the high degree of affectedness and on the basis of the discussion with politicians and the public, the determination of variants was extended in the course of the planning process to include further areas (old concrete factory, sports facility SV Reislingen/Neuhaus, residential property) in the area of Sandkrugkreuzung. In the meeting of the Council of the City of Wolfsburg on 21.06.2017, the decision to strengthen the axis Dieselstraße - L 290 for motor vehicle traffic was taken. On the basis of this, a routing of the L 290 slightly offset from the existing road and thus a bypass of the current Sandkrug intersection has since been further pursued. In the course of a feasibility study, different variants for the Zollstraße/Sandkrugstraße intersection have been developed and examined. As a basis for the further consideration process, an initial noise assessment has already been carried out for four variants.
Step 1: Expansion in the existing building (variant 1)
- Expansion of the existing Zollstraße/Sandkrugstraße junction
- level design of the intersection with a traffic light
- constant speeds
- during the construction phase there will be considerable obstructions
- major urban planning impact on Reislingen
- Extensive noise protection measures required for residents with low land consumption
- very high investment costs
- Land acquisition and demolition of residential property necessary
Conclusion:
In a first step, the variant was not pursued further and was only included for comparability. In the course of further planning and discussions with the responsible Lower Saxony State Authority for Road Construction and Transport (NLStBV) and the Lower Saxony Ministry of Economics, Labor, Transport and Digitalization, the focus has shifted back to the existing expansion. Variant 1 is therefore being examined again.
Step 2: Large swivel (variant 2)
- Relocation of the Zollstraße/Sandkrugstraße intersection further southeast toward Neuhaus
- in the area of the junction with Sandkrugstraße, the bypass will be lower than the terrain (plan-free guidance in trough position, Sandkrugstraße crosses via bridge structure)
- Reislinger Straße and Reislingen Südwest will be relieved of through traffic
- significant increase in speed
- during the construction phase there are only traffic obstructions during the construction of the crossings, otherwise traffic can flow unhindered
- the bypass offers development opportunities for Reislingen
- Partial noise protection already provided by the trough location of the route
- Very high investment costs
- Land acquisition of agricultural land and in the area of the sports field necessary
Step 3: Slightly offset guidance of the L 290
Relocation of the Sandkrug crossing to the site of the old concrete factory (variant 1N)
- Relocation of the Zollstraße/Sandkrugstraße junction to the site of the old concrete factory
- level design of the intersection with a traffic light
- Reislinger Straße and Reislingen Südwest are relieved of through traffic
- slight increase in speed
- during the construction phase there will only be traffic obstructions during the construction of the crossings, otherwise traffic can flow unhindered
- the bypass offers development opportunities for Reislingen
- Noise protection measures for the residents with medium land consumption required
- high investment costs
- Land acquisition and demolition of residential property necessary
Remote guidance across the sports field (variant 2N)
- Slightly offset relocation of the Zollstraße/Sandkrugstraße junction further to the southeast in the direction of Neuhaus
- in the area of the junction with Sandkrugstraße, the bypass will be lower than the terrain (plan-free guidance in trough position, Sandkrugstraße crosses over bridge structure)
- Reislinger Straße and Reislingen Südwest will be relieved of through traffic
- significant increase in speed
- during the construction phase there are only traffic obstructions during the construction of the crossings, otherwise traffic can flow unhindered
- the bypass offers development opportunities for Reislingen
- Partial noise protection already provided by the trough location of the route
- Land acquisition of agricultural land and in the area of the sports field necessary
Comparison of the variants
In order to improve the traffic situation in the southeast of Wolfsburg, the city of Wolfsburg developed and examined various traffic routing options for the L 290 between the districts of Reislingen and Neuhaus. The basic idea is to bundle motor vehicle traffic by strengthening the Dieselstraße - L 290 axis and to be able to better handle the daily traffic volumes by expanding selected sections. Since the summer of 2017, the planning of a slightly offset routing of the L 290 has been pursued through the Council resolution on submission V 2017/0274, which represents a compromise solution that is compatible and acceptable for the two districts of Reislingen and Neuhaus. With the resolution of the submission V 2018/0651-1 on 20.06.2018 by the Council of the City of Wolfsburg, the preferred variant 2N (detached routing via the sports field) was approved for further processing. With the planning resolution for submission V 2019/0986 of 03.07.2019, the administration was commissioned by the Council of the City of Wolfsburg with the basic investigation and preliminary planning (work phases 1 and 2 HOAI) for the rerouting of the L 290.
After lengthy consultations, it has been determined that the state of Lower Saxony will not contribute to the costs of a possible rerouting of the L 290. However, the road can be rerouted as a county road/municipal road in coordination with the state. Funding for the project is possible through the Municipal Transport Financing Act (GVFG). However, the state authority favors the upgrading of the existing route and junctions (junctions L 290/Marie-Curie-Allee/Dieselstraße and L 290/Sandkrugstraße). However, since an upgrade of the existing roadway is not possible due to the given space conditions (ownership, existing residential buildings), the city of Wolfsburg does not see any potential to achieve the required increase in capacity on the L 290/Dieselstraße axis by upgrading the existing route and nodes. In this context, the city of Wolfsburg has commissioned another traffic study with the aim of developing an efficient alternative.
For the Dieselstrasse area, an examination of the traffic performance for the continuous four-lane expansion was carried out with the aid of a traffic simulation. In the course of this, the outdated forecast values for 2020 were compared with the new forecast model for 2030 and adjusted to the new situation. Currently, the preliminary work for the biotope type and species mapping as well as for the flora-fauna-habitat (FHH) assessment along Dieselstraße is taking place. The mapping for the extension of Dieselstraße and the results are available.
Since July 2019, the planning decision for the four-lane expansion of Dieselstraße and for the optimization of the affected intersections in the section Lerchenweg to Zollstraße has also been available. The administration is currently preparing the tendering procedure (VgV procedure), which is required for the award of public contracts above the EU thresholds.
The next steps planned are as follows:
- Amendment of the land use plan
- Revision of the planning template for the St.-Annen junction
- Initiation of VGV procedure at the beginning of 2022 for the extension of Dieselstraße
Motor vehicle traffic
To improve traffic flow in Wolfsburg and counteract congestion caused by the high volume of commuters, new solutions are being sought for the. The aim is to concentrate traffic in the direction of the city center and the Volkswagen plant on central traffic axes where as few residents as possible are burdened by traffic. In order to implement the Wolfsburg Southeast traffic concept, the planning envisages strengthening the Dieselstrasse - L 290 axis for motor vehicle traffic and further optimizing the future routing of the L 290 in the Reislingen area. In this context, a solution is to be pursued that provides for a routing slightly offset from Zollstraße and the bypassing of the current Sandkrug intersection.