The New Köhlbrand Bridge

The application for the planning approval decision will be submitted by 2030, so that the planning approval can be expected to be available in the early 2030s. As the following construction phase will take approximately eight years, the new main port route is expected to open to traffic towards the end of the 2030s. The Köhlbrand area of the southern Elbe branch could be navigable without the current height restrictions for shipping as early as the following year. Overall completion – including the removal of the old Köhlbrand Bridge – could be accomplished by the mid-2040s.

The quickest possible completion of the Köhlbrand Bridge is top priority for the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, the HPA, and ReGe Hamburg, which is the body responsible for implementation. The aim is to open the new bridge to traffic by the end of the 2030s, and potential ways to accelerate the project have already been identified. 

Since the landmark decision in June 2024 to replace the existing Köhlbrand Bridge with a new one, the project has already been brought forward by more than two years. By dividing the planning services into separate contracts and overlapping planning processes, the planning phase was shortened by another year, and by optimising the construction process, the anticipated construction phase has also been shortened by approximately one year. Further acceleration potential will be identified during the planning phase. This may include, for example:

• Dovetailing of draft planning and early submission of planning approval applications,
• Shortening the planning phase through optimised contract awards and the tightest possible sequence of events in review and decision-making processes,
• Reduction of construction time through optimisation of construction methods and processes,
• Bonus schemes in the event of the project being completed ahead of schedule.

The total cost of the new Köhlbrand Bridge was estimated in early 2024 as part of an analysis of alternatives. The result: the replacement of the bridge, including ramps and transport hubs in the east and west, is currently estimated to cost between €4.4 billion and €5.3 billion (gross). This represents a saving of 25 per cent compared to a bored tunnel, which was also considered. In terms of operation, a bridge can also be expected to incur lower maintenance costs than a tunnel. One reason for this is that, unlike a bridge, a tunnel has complex operating technology that requires regular maintenance and renewal. Against this background, the Hamburg Parliament decided in June 2024 that the new Köhlbrand crossing should be constructed as a bridge and approved funding of €249.5 million for its planning.

Due to the outstanding importance of the Köhlbrand crossing for Germany's largest seaport and the interregional transport network, the Federal Minister of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI) and the First Mayor of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg signed a declaration in February 2020. This declaration confirms their joint intention to build a new Köhlbrand crossing. The City of Hamburg remains the project sponsor.

A key prerequisite for this was the reclassification of the existing Köhlbrand Bridge as a federal highway (B3) within Hamburg's administrative responsibility. This step was completed in February 2021, based on Section 5a of the Federal Highways Act (German: Bundesfernstraßengesetz; FStrG).

A binding funding commitment from the federal government is not currently possible. The formal requirements for a funding application to the federal government have not yet been met. The basis for an application for federal funding is a completed draft design, including the associated cost calculation. The federal government can then contribute financially once an enforceable planning approval decision has been issued.

However, history shows that the construction of the Köhlbrand Bridge in 1974 was also co-financed by the federal government at the time due to its high economic significance.

The Köhlbrand crossing has two main functions: it connects, sorts, and organises road traffic in the Port of Hamburg and, at the same time, enables ships on the Elbe federal waterway to pass through to transhipment areas in the southern part of the port. Due to its deteriorating condition and its clearance height of 53 metres above sea level, the existing bridge can no longer adequately fulfil these functions. The bridge already poses a significant obstacle to shipping in particular. Given the current size of ships with capacities of up to 24,500 TEU, the Köhlbrand Bridge can currently only be crossed by ships of up to approximately 14,000 TEU (depending on their height). However, these ships now account for only a small and declining portion of large container ships passing through Hamburg.

This challenge will continue to grow in the future. Hamburg must expect a moderate but ongoing increase in ship size, which will require additional modern berths for large vessels that can be used flexibly, particularly during peak handling periods.

Forecasts indicate that the largest container ships calling at Hamburg – with capacities of up to 25,800 TEU – have an air draft (height above the waterline) of around 67 metres above sea level when their superstructures are folded down. Taking into account safety clearances and the anticipated rise in mean high tide levels, a clearance height of 73.5 metres NHN is therefore required for the new Köhlbrand Bridge. This would make it comparable in height to other modern bridges on major international shipping routes, such as the El Qantara Bridge over the Suez Canal and the Stonecutters Bridge in Hong Kong.

The new Köhlbrand Bridge will shape nautical access to the southern port areas for decades to come – likely well into the next century. Its greater height represents a strategic long-term decision, securing and expanding the potential of the port areas beyond it.