Kreuz Kaiserberg
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The Kreuz Kaiserberg (German: ''Autobahnkreuz Kaiserberg'') is a spaghetti junction in the
Metropolitan region A metropolitan area or metro is a region consisting of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories which share industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metropolitan area usually ...
Rhein-Ruhr The Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region () is the largest metropolitan region in Germany, with over ten million inhabitants. A polycentric conurbation with several major urban concentrations, the region covers an area of , entirely within the federa ...
in the
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
state of
North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...
. The interchange forms the connection between the A3, which runs from the Dutch border near Elten via
Oberhausen Oberhausen (, ) is a city on the river Emscher in the Ruhr Area, Germany, located between Duisburg and Essen ( ). The city hosts the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen and its Gasometer Oberhausen is an anchor point of the European Rout ...
and
Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...
to the
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n border south of
Passau Passau (; ) is a city in Lower Bavaria, Germany. It is also known as the ("City of Three Rivers"), as the river Danube is joined by the Inn (river), Inn from the south and the Ilz from the north. Passau's population is about 50,000, of whom ...
, and the A40 (''Ruhrschnellweg'') from
Venlo Venlo () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in southeastern Netherlands, close to the border with Germany. It is situated in the province of Limburg (Netherlands), ...
to
Dortmund Dortmund (; ; ) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the List of cities in Germany by population, ninth-largest city in Germany. With a population of 614,495 inhabitants, it is the largest city ...
.


Geography

The Kreuz Kaiserberg is located in the city of
Duisburg Duisburg (; , ) is a city in the Ruhr metropolitan area of the western States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Lying on the confluence of the Rhine (Lower Rhine) and the Ruhr (river), Ruhr rivers in the center of the Rhine-Ruh ...
and is called after the 75-metre-high Kaiserberg there. To the west lies the district of Duissern and south of the interchange is the
Duisburg Zoo The Duisburg Zoo, founded on 12 May 1934, is one of the largest zoological gardens in Germany. It is especially well known for its dolphinarium and, since 1994, for breeding koalas. Far less well known are the breeding successes in other areas, ...
. North of the interchange are the River
Ruhr The Ruhr ( ; , also ''Ruhrpott'' ), also referred to as the Ruhr Area, sometimes Ruhr District, Ruhr Region, or Ruhr Valley, is a polycentric urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population density of 1,160/km2 and a populati ...
and the Duisburg harbour. Nearby cities are
Mülheim an der Ruhr Mülheim, officially Mülheim an der Ruhr (, ; ; ) and also described as ''"City on the River"'', is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia in western Germany. It is located in the Ruhr Area between Duisburg, Essen, Oberhausen and Ratingen. It is home ...
and
Oberhausen Oberhausen (, ) is a city on the river Emscher in the Ruhr Area, Germany, located between Duisburg and Essen ( ). The city hosts the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen and its Gasometer Oberhausen is an anchor point of the European Rout ...
. The interchange is approximately 3 km east of the city centre of Duisburg.


History

The building of the interchange began in October 1966. It was opened to traffic in stages between April and June 1969; the connection on the eastern side to the Ruhrschnellweg (previously known as B60) opened at the same time. The western section of what is now the A40, between the and the A3, was completed in 1974. Until April 1992, the A40 east of the Kreuz Kaiserberg was designated the A430 and west of it the A2. To the north, the A3 and the A2 were combined as far as the . Until 1992, the official name of the intersection was Duisburg-Kaiserberg. The stretch of autobahn and the intersection were both renamed because reuse of the same name (in this case for the Duisburg-Kaiserberg exit and the Duisburg-Kaiserberg intersection) and double numbering of a section of motorway (A2/A3) are not permitted. In May 2010, the interchange was the scene of an unusual accident: a car travelling over one of its bridges broke through the concrete barrier and fell onto the A3 below. The car's 46-year-old driver was severely injured and had to be rescued by the fire brigade. The driver of another car travelling on the A3 was slightly injured, as he was unable to brake in time and crashed into the fallen car. On 18 July 2010, a stretch of the A40 between Dortmund and Duisburg was closed for the Ruhr.2010
European Capital of Culture A European Capital of Culture is a city designated by the European Union (EU) for a period of one calendar year during which it organises a series of cultural events with a strong pan-European dimension. Being a European Capital of Culture can ...
project ''Still-Leben'' ("Still Life"). As part of that event, several hundred thousand people gathered at Kreuz Kaiserberg to celebrate Ruhr.2010. In the centre of the intersection was an installation by German-based American artist Rita McBride modelled on the
Delicate Arch Delicate Arch is a freestanding natural arch located in Arches National Park, near Moab in Grand County, Utah, United States. The arch is the most widely recognized landmark in Arches National Park and is depicted on Utah license plates an ...
in Utah, USA. The gathering has been described as "the most beautiful traffic jam Kreuz Kaiserberg has ever had". It was the first time since 1973 that pedestrians had been permitted to roam the interchange without being endangered by traffic.


Building form

As a "spaghetti junction", the interchange was built in an unusual way. Due to the narrow angle in which the motorways cross, the
ramp An inclined plane, also known as a ramp, is a flat supporting surface tilted at an angle from the vertical direction, with one end higher than the other, used as an aid for raising or lowering a load. The inclined plane is one of the six clas ...
s had to be built in a small space and all lie south of the main bridge in the interchange.


Road configuration

Near the interchange the A3 is a 2x3 lane motorway, but between the interchange on- and off-ramps is a 2x2 motorway. On the Essen side, the A40 is 2x2, but on the Duisburg side it has been expanded to 2x3. In addition, since 2014 the A40 has been further expanded between the Kaiserberg and Duisburg interchanges, only in the direction of Essen, to 4 lanes without
hard shoulder A shoulder (American English), hard shoulder (British English) or breakdown lane (Australian English) is an emergency stopping lane by the verge on the outer side of a road or motorway. Many wider freeways, or expressways elsewhere have should ...
. All the ramps are single-lane, except those that lead in multiple directions. In their transport planning document (''Bundesverkehrswegeplan''), the German government has designated widening the A40 to 2x3 lanes on the Essen side as highly urgent.


Traffic near the interchange

Approximately 205,000 vehicles passed through the interchange on a daily basis in 2010. The portion of the A40/A44 between the Kreuz Kaiserberg and Kreuz Werl is traditionally one of the most congested sections of Autobahn in Germany.


References


Further reading

*


External links


GEO: Spaziergang im Autobahnkreuz Duisburg-Kaiserberg
– a photo-illustrated guided walk (by GEO magazine (Germany)) in and around the interchange
WDR video: Thomas Bug am Kreuz Kaiserberg
– part of a 30 minute long WDR extra video of the Ruhr.2010 "Still-Leben" event
WDR video: Gurken schälen mit Thomas Bug
– another extract from the same video {{in lang, de
Photo of Reichsautobahn 3 at the location now occupied by the intersection
www.lauritzen-hamburg.de Kaiserberg