District renews roadway and expands cycle path on K 43
On behalf of the Waldeck-Frankenberg district, Hessen Mobil is currently rehabilitating the roadway of the district road 43 between the Armsfeld district of Bad Wildung and the Fischbach district of Hain. The existing footpath and cycle path and the local bus stops are also being made barrier-free in this course. The district is investing over four million euros in this project.
The construction work has been underway since mid-February and is being implemented in two sections to ensure access to the popular Forsthaus Café excursion destination. First, the road between Armsfeld and the forester's lodge is being renewed, then the road from there to Fischbach. During a site visit, Karl-Friedrich Frese, First District Commissioner, and Ralf Gutheil, Mayor of Bad Wildungen, and Alexander Köhler, Mayor of Haina, inspected the construction site.
After the removal of the existing structure and the improvement of the subsoil, the road will be rebuilt with a 42-centimetre-thick frost protection layer and a total of 18-centimetre-thick asphalt base and surface layer. The thickness of the parallel cycle path will then be 37.5 centimetres in total. In addition to the roadway, new drainage and multi-purpose pipelines will also be laid.
"This year, the district is investing around eight million euros in the maintenance and upkeep of the district roads," says Karl-Friedrich Frese. "The measure on county road 43, with a volume of 4.4 million euros, is one of the largest construction sites this year. We are very pleased that the measure is going so well and according to plan." Martin Riehl, head of the Department of Construction North Hesse, explains the following details: "In addition to the road construction, a new frame culvert is currently being installed for the crossing Appenbach. As in other places, the work is being monitored ecologically by the Regional Conservation Department to ensure that nature conservation concerns are taken into account."
Finally, the bus stops on both sides of the road at the Forsthaus will be converted to make them barrier-free. Overall, this construction project is scheduled to last until the end of November 2023. The diversions will be via the district road 47 and the district road 106 via Battenhausen to Haddenberg and further via the state road 3296 to Fischbach. The route is signposted in both directions.
With a total length of 483 kilometres, the district roads in Waldeck-Frankenberg are the longest in the whole of Hesse. In order to maintain and expand the state's largest road network, the Waldeck-Frankenberg district invests several million euros annually to maintain the road network together with the road and traffic management company Hessen Mobil and to ensure the best possible road safety - and thus to constantly improve the infrastructure in Waldeck-Frankenberg.
In recent years, the budget for the construction of district roads in Waldeck-Frankenberg has risen continuously: While a few years ago it was still around four million euros, this year the investments have doubled in comparison with around eight million. This is not only due to an increase in construction costs, but above all to the fact that the district is investing more and continuously in the maintenance and improvement of the district roads. Which projects are tackled each year is determined beforehand as part of a priority list that is coordinated with all stakeholders.