Expressway Potsdam-Schönefeld

The Expressway Potsdam-Schönefeld is the overarching term for a number of transport projects to create a single four-lane mostly grade-separated highway from Potsdam to Schönefeld south of Berlin (Germany).

The plans for the expressway are based on older plans from the GDR. A route south of Berlin had an important transport and strategic function. The road link was required to allow for traffic to run from Potsdam via Schönefeld to East Berlin without crossing the area of West Berlin. After erection of the Berlin Wall any such route was right out blocked - all traffic had to be diverted to flow around the gated city in the south. The counterpart of this road link in the field of railway is the Berlin outer ring.

With the decision on the expansion of the Berlin Schönefeld Airport to become the Berlin-Brandenburg International Airport these plans have been revived in order to create a highway link from Potsdam to Schönefeld. The initial time plan for opening of the new airport in 2010 matches with the original timetable for the construction of a four-lane expressway and a number of its sections have already been realized.

Nutheschnellstraße

Nuthe Expressway near Potsdam-Stern

The first section is the Nuthschnellstraße (literally "Nuthe Expressway" from original name "Expressway Nuthe Street" either deriving their name from the river Nuthe) which is an expressway that was already constructed in the 1970s to connect the Potsdam city center with its boroughs on the other side of the river Havel in Potsdam-Schlaatz, Potsdam-Stern and Potsdam-Drewitz which are mostly Plattenbau housing estates that were under development at the time. In Potsdram-Drewitz the expressway is connected to the Autobahn A 115 motorway that runs via the AVUS to Berlin's City-West.

The Nuthe Expressway ends shortly after the motorway bridge at junction Güterfelde (in planning documents called "Güterfelder Eck"). The traffic flow is north-east straight ahead on the road link "L 76" that runs directly through the built-up areas of Stahnsdorf and Teltow which features major congestions during rush hour. The new expressway was planned as a bypass south of Stahnsdorf / Teltow and running north of the "L 40" in Güterfelde / Ruhlsdorf such that the "new L 40" ("L40n") would be connected to the motorway B 101 south of Großbeeren. The section from Großbeeren to Güterfelde was opened in April 2006 leaving a road section through Güterfelde town to the Nuthe expressway at its end.

L76 Teltow-Mahlow

expressway bypass near Mahlow

On the East end of Teltow the road link "L 76" is running as a rural road to Mahlow's West end. Near Teltow there is already an exit of the motorway B 101 north of Großbeeren. The new expressway will replace the old rural road completely and feature an interchange junction with the B 101. This section of the expressway is currently under construction to be openened in the second half of 2010.

In Mahlow it enters the old village for a short section where it is later to connected to a bypass road that runs north of Mahlow. The bypass had been constructed in the 1980s featuring a four-lanes expressway running below a railway track that was a major point of congestion before. The two ends of this old bypass are not grade-separated however.

The bypass track was later extended to the B 96 junction which was changed into an interchange.

B96a Mahlow-Schönefeld

B 96a at the southern border of Berlin

The federeal road B96 (named F96 at the time) was one of the most important road links in the former GDR connecting the southern mountains of the country via its capital to the northern coast. However the original route was running right through Berlin-West which was blocked with the Berlin Wall. As a replacement an alternate route (later named "B96a") was created that would branch away from the old B96 near Mahlow running east via Schöneld to the southern borders of Berlin-East. It would then continue through the city to the northern border of Berlin-East where it would connect again with the old B96 near Birkenwerder.

In the course of planning for the expansion of the airport Berlin-Schoenefeld intointernational air hub, the expansion plans for the B96a were also revived and revised. An expressway connection from Schönefeld to Waßmannsdorf was opened already in the 1990s. In 2002 the expressway from the B96 interchange near Mahlow was extended to the bridge across the Berlin outer ring. Finally in October 2007 the expressway was completed with a section from that Bridge to Waßmannsdorf making it a dual carriageway with a design speed of 120 km/h although there are some junctions that are not grade-separated.

Further plans

In May 2008 the new Autobahn section A 113 was connected to the B96a in the West end of Schönefeld. That A 113 motorway does connect to the Airport area south of Schönefeld town. As a consequence the sections of the B96a west of that interchange are expected to be degraded to normal roads in the future.

The expressway from Schönefeld to Potsdam is nearly completed but for two areas. The first one is the Güterfelde town where a bypass was opposed by a citizen initiative that was not wanting the route to run north of the town center thereby cutting of the Kienwerder borough. A route south of the town was proposed but it would have been considerably longer as it would have not to be connected to the current western end of the Nuthe Expressway but east of it near Drewitz where a new interchange would have been to be created. Finally this proposal was dumped in April 2008 by court approval of the northern bypass. The construction of the first part at the western end (near the Nuthe Expressway) has started in January 2009 but some appeals are still blocking the construction start at the eastern end (near Marggraffshof settlement).

The other constriction area is in the western part of Mahlow that needs a connection to the rest of the Mahlow bypass. This plan is largely not disputed but the land area was not bought either so far. It is expected that with the opening of the route L 76 from Mahlow to Teltow in August 2010 the construction works will extend to this last section. Current estimates expect the final bypass to open not before August 2013.

The Berlin-Brandenburg International Airport construction was delayed in court and the opening is currently scheduled for October 2011. Due to some problems the construction is already late which may delay the completion of the airport to 2012. The legal problems in Maggraffshof near Güterfelde may delay the completion of the expressway to 2014. The connection from Potsdam to Schönefeld is 40 km long - it took 50 minutes travel time (40 minutes in 2009) that will fall below 30 minutes after completion of the expressway.