The Lindaunis bridge has been closed to shipping traffic since 3 November 2025. Special openings were possible in coordination with the construction site, but only if the need was announced to Deutsche Bahn ten working days before the planned passage. Regular openings were not planned again until April 2026. A specific date for the first opening in spring could not yet be given in autumn.
The responsible Baltic Sea Waterways and Shipping Authority has now announced in a Notice to Mariners(BfS) that the Lindaunis road and railway bridge will only be closed to shipping traffic until 25 March 2026 and will reopen several times a day from Thursday, 26 March 2026 until the end of the season. The planned opening times are 10.30am, 11.30am, 12.30pm, 1.30pm, 2.30pm, 3.30pm, 4.30pm and 5.30pm. A speed limit of ten kilometres per hour (5.4 knots) applies for the passage of the main opening; suction and wave impact must be avoided.
The drama surrounding the Lindaunis bridge
Skippers have long had to be patient with the dilapidated Lindaunis railway bridge. Since autumn 2020, Deutsche Bahn has been trying to replace the ageing and repeatedly defective bascule bridge. In September 2025, it presented the new schedule for the completion of the new replacement building ahead: It should be ready by the end of 2027 - four years later than originally planned. The project has been underway for two decades. The bridge, which was built in 1927 and has already been partially dismantled, has been closed to car and rail traffic for several years; only pedestrians can now cross the Schlei via a temporary bridge.
Jill Grigoleit
Editor Travel
