Residents and shopkeepers happy Reichsstraße in Bonn reopens after construction work
Röttgen · The Reichsstraße in Röttgen, part of the L261, was fully closed over the Easter holidays due to construction work. The news reached most residents rather late. One hotel owner had to ring her guests out of their sleep because the work suddenly started right in front of her door.
"This could have been communicated better. I had to ring my guests out of bed at the crack of dawn so they could move their cars," says Petra Bierikoven from Hotel Kottenforst. A road construction company had abruptly honked her out of her sleep early in the morning. Her hostel is located directly on the Reichsstraße, which has been fully closed for the past two weeks from the intersection with Herzogsfreudenweg to the motorway junction Meckenheim-Nord. Road surfaces were repaired and markings renewed. The bicycle lanes were also affected.
After the section in front of the hotel had been renewed and dried, Bierikoven had received assurances from the company responsible that the road would be opened to one lane. When that did not happen, she opened one lane herself so that her guests could leave the hotel at all. Annoyingly for Bierikoven, the contractors turned their vehicles on the hotel property, leaving tar tracks behind, according to her. At least the work was worth it, says the owner - in some places behind the town's exit, there were "quite a few jumps".
Bakery loses sales due to lack of customers
A "Gilgen's" bakery, itself located immediately before the closure in Röttgen, has also noticed the effects of the construction work. Within the two weeks, there was a considerable drop in sales, reports a baker. However, this could also have to do with a natural decline due to the Easter holidays at the same time. His colleague, who commutes from the direction of Meckenheim, finds it outrageous that the buses passed some stops but let her get off much further away on the same route, she says.
This is also the opinion of geriatric nurse Loi Tanan, who has had twice as long a commute to her clients and rides line 603. She has also noticed some confused drivers who had to turn around in front of the roadworks. Resident Axel Kallenberg is surprised that the work was completed in time. He, too, only found out when leaving the motorway that he would not be able to drive along the main road towards Meckenheim as usual. However, he is glad that the road surface has been repaired.
Straßen NRW: Schedule and budget were adhered to
When asked, Torsten Gaber of the North Rhine-Westphalian road construction company said that the work had been completed at a satisfactory pace. The budget was also adhered to. The measure is part of a NRW-wide renewal programme which, according to the Ministry of Transport, provides for record investments in the roads of North Rhine-Westphalia. The state estimates the costs for the Reichsstraße at 716,000 euros.
Meanwhile, on Monday afternoon, the last metres of the now reopened section were asphalted. Near the exit of Röttgen, a few metres of the road were closed on one side. At the same time, a company excavated a large part of the green strip at the edge of the road. According to the plan, the bicycle path will be widened with gravel. Gaber says that he does not know when the new guardrail installations on the Reichsstraße will follow.
Original text: Simun Sustic
Translation: Mareike Graepel
