An important milestone has been reached for the new Elbe crossing near Lauenburg: The Schleswig-Holstein State Agency for Road Construction and Transportation (LBV.SH) and its equivalent in Lower Saxony, the NLStBV, presented the preferred option to the public at the end of October. Following extensive studies and ongoing public engagement, the decision was made to proceed with a route east of the existing bridge, including a bypass north of Lauenburg. The proposed variant of the Elbe crossing, designed as a truss bridge, now forms the basis for further design planning.
As part of a joint engineering consortium with SOCOTEC Ingenieure AG, we have been involved in the project since 2022 and are supporting the LBV.SH and the NLStBV with the planning. Environmental impact, traffic, and land-use planning assessments as well as a comprehensive evaluation of the nine remaining options across four planning corridors led to the selection of the preferred option. The integration of BIM and GIS played a key role, with all the technical information consolidated into a single digital planning environment. This has enabled us to examine, evaluate, and transparently document spatial relationships, environmental concerns, and technical constraints.
We also supported the clients in their public relations efforts, including public participation initiatives and informational events, as well as the presentation of the preferred planning option. Our “route flights” through the coordination model proved especially popular: They bring the future route to life in a vivid way and have garnered more than 150,000 views via the social media channels of the Lauenburg authorities.
For us, this demonstrates that digital planning methods create transparency and help convey complex infrastructure projects clearly and comprehensibly.
Many thanks to LBV.SH and NLStBV for their trusting collaboration!
