Ostsee/Schlei: Opening postponed: Schleibrücke bridge in Kappeln remains closed!

The bitter news from the Schlei continues unabated. Initially, the Schleibrücke bridge in Kappeln was sporadically closed to traffic on a few days, but since 4 April it has been permanently down. Contrary to earlier news, however, it will not only be closed until Friday of this week: the construction work will be extended until 30 April. This was announced today by an employee of the Schleswig-Holstein Ministry of Economics and Transport in a video conference. This means that many sailors are still stuck in the Schlei. Passage under the bridge is only possible with the mast lowered. However, the clearance height at mean water level is only 3.50 metres.

The notices to mariners do not yet report the further closure. "However, we have been notified of this as confirmed information and we have already informed our customers," says Silja Schröder from the Comfortina shipyard in Schleswig, who took part in the video conference as a member of the "Aktionsbündnis Maritime Wirtschaft Innere Schlei". The action group includes several shipyards that now see their existence threatened by the permanent obstructions to the bridges over the fjord.

The transit times for the bridge in Lindaunis also remain vague. The construction work is scheduled to last until 2025 and is currently repeatedly leading to restricted opening times, which are likely to continue and possibly be extended: "Further bridge closures for shipping traffic are planned for the period from mid-September 2022 to probably July 2023 due to construction work. Due to the settlement of the dam as construction progresses, we will not be able to finalise these dates until mid-2022 at the earliest," says Deutsche Bahn's construction information portal.