Berlin A100 Bridge Closure Extended to 31 January

The outer lanes of the Rudolf-Wissell-Brücke on Berlin’s A100 city motorway will stay closed until at least 31 January, according to the Autobahn GmbH, the federal motorway company. The closures, which began as a two-week measure, now run for months because of wider checks on the bridge.

What happened

The Berliner Morgenpost, citing the Autobahn-Gesellschaft, reports that the outer lanes of the A100 on the bridge have been closed since 7 October. At first, the right-hand lane in each direction was meant to be unavailable for only two weeks. The closure is now expected to last until 31 January.

The reason is a damaged Spannglied, a steel tendon that holds the bridge structure under tension. It has to be replaced. Until that is done, the Autobahn GmbH says the bridge cannot carry its full load. The bridge is part of one of the busiest motorway sections in Germany.

The checks have also grown. All other tendons on the bridge are being inspected. External experts (Gutachter) have so far completed half of this examination, the Autobahn-Gesellschaft said. Tendons that have already been exposed are being partly repaired on the spot. The damaged tendon will be exchanged once the investigations are finished.

The bridge is about 930 metres long, which makes it the longest road bridge in Berlin, according to the report. Around 180,000 vehicles cross it every day.

What it means for you

If you drive on the A100 across the Rudolf-Wissell-Brücke, expect congestion to continue. The article says road users must keep reckoning with Staus (traffic jams) on this stretch. With the closure now running to 31 January, the delays will not end after a few weeks, as first planned.

This affects car commuters, delivery drivers, taxi and ride-hailing users, and anyone who takes this motorway to reach other parts of the city or to leave Berlin. Because roughly 180,000 vehicles use the bridge daily, a loss of two lanes puts pressure on a very large number of journeys.

The source does not name detours, alternative public transport lines or specific times of day when the jams are worst, so we cannot give those. Practical steps that follow from the facts are these:

• Plan extra travel time on any route that includes the A100 at the bridge, at least until 31 January.
• Check live traffic information before you set off, as the closure has already been extended once.
• If you drive for work, tell your employer or clients that delays on this stretch may last into the new year.

The Autobahn GmbH says the end date depends on the inspections. Treat 31 January as the current estimate (the source says “voraussichtlich”, meaning expected), not a guarantee.

What watch next

Three developments are worth following.

First, the second half of the expert examination. The result will decide whether the tendon replacement can go ahead on schedule and whether 31 January holds.

Second, the replacement of the damaged tendon itself, which the Autobahn-Gesellschaft plans after the investigations end.

Third, the longer-term plan. According to the Autobahn-Gesellschaft, a Ersatzneubau (replacement building) is planned for the bridge, with two separate bridges. The article gives no dates or costs for this.

The closure is also part of a wider pattern. The Morgenpost notes that the A100 has seen repeated large closures for months because several bridges are in poor condition and are being demolished. The best-known case is the Ringbahnbrücke, which belonged to the Dreieck Funkturm (the Funkturm motorway junction). It was closed in spring 2025 because of a spreading crack in its load-bearing structure and was later demolished. Its replacement is already under construction. The Westendbrücke, further north, has also been rebuilt, with construction starting at the end of December 2025.

For residents, the message is simple: build in extra time on the A100 for the coming months, and keep an eye on updates from the Autobahn GmbH.

Source: Berliner Morgenpost