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Two tugs securing pontoon with central section of Rade High Bridge
The Kiel Canal has been completely closed to shipping since the night of July 13, 2026. The reason was the loading of the central section of the new A7 motorway's high bridge in Rade. On the morning, the 116-meter-long central section was loaded onto the pontoon 'TOW III' at the heavy-load port in Osterrönfeld near Rendsburg. The "Wulf 7" and "Wulf 4" were ready to pull the 1,250-ton central section towards the bridge construction site. The entire operation was scheduled to begin around 11:00 a.m. and last into the afternoon. The pontoon was secured to the quay wall by the tugs. Large heavy-load vehicles thened roll the bridge section onto the pontoon. As waves could endanger the loading process, the passage of all types of vessels into the canal was suspended on the morning. The closure also applied to recreational boats. The last ships passed the loading point at around 6:00 a.m. and reached the locks in Brunsbüttel and Kiel around 10:00 a.m. The patrol vessels "Brandgans" and "Sehestedt" secured the loading point to prevent recreational boats from passing through. Once the bridge segment has been loaded and the pontoon has been swung out of the fairway, ships will be able to pass through the Rendsburg area again. This was currently estimated to be around 4 p.m. The canal will be closed again on July 15, when the central section will be lifted into place at the construction site and close the gap in the structure. The passage of ships through the locks in Kiel was scheduled to be suspended around 2:30 p.m. and in Brunsbüttel at around 11:30 a.m. This was to ensure that the pontoon can be secured in its position under the Rader High Bridge starting at 6:00 p.m. Report with photos: https://www.ndr.de/nachrichten/schleswig-holstein/rader-hochbruecke-mittelstueck-wird-eingehoben-der-ablauf,hochbruecke-110.html
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