The rehabilitation of bridges is one of the priorities of the special fund for infrastructure.

For many drivers in Germany, the renovation of dilapidated bridges could prove a test of patience. "Drivers will initially see many construction sites," Federal Transport Minister Patrick Schnieder (CDU) told the German Press Agency in Berlin. "This will naturally lead to restrictions and burdens. But the outlook is that things will improve afterwards because there will be a properly functioning bridge again."

The renovation of the bridges is very urgent. The federal government will make this a priority, said Schnieder. There are approximately 4,000 bridges that need to be renovated quickly, ideally. "I expect that we will have renovated a large portion of these 4,000 bridges by 2032."

Schnieder thus confirmed earlier statements made by his predecessor Volker Wissing regarding the period of bridge renovation.

According to the federal government's draft, 2.5 billion euros are planned for bridge renovation in the 2025 budget from the huge special fund for infrastructure and climate protection, with billions more euros planned in the coming years.

According to Schnieder, the 4,000 bridges correspond to a bridge area of ​​about 450 football fields. "We started by tackling the large and important bridges, and the equivalent of 156 football fields has already been repaired. One-third of the area has been renovated, and we will and must now tackle the rest."

Schnieder continued: "We also need to speed things up. We need to simplify and accelerate procedures wherever possible. If we build a new bridge at the same location, we currently have to go through a planning approval process." This is very complex and time-consuming. "We're reviewing everything again, even though there was already a bridge there. Nobody really understands that. That's why we want to change the process to make it faster and simpler."

The Federal Audit Office had accused the federal government of slow repairs to dilapidated bridges. The ministry had rejected the criticism.