Travel Advisory: Changes to Traffic Regulations on A485/A45 - Southern Crossroads of Giessen
The Westphalia Highway (Straßen.NRW) is carrying out repair work on the Giessen South Cross, where the A45 and A485 intersect. The ongoing maintenance work has resulted in several changes to traffic flow and detour routes for motorists.
From 6th April to 4th May, there will be a truck driving ban on the A45 above the work site on three Sundays - 6th April, 13th April, and 4th May, from 0 to 22 hours each day. However, the continuous lanes of the A45 in the structure area can continue to be used without restrictions.
Investigations on the bridge damage at the Giessen South Cross have been ongoing since June, and it has been found that three broken tension rods in the outer carrier of the bridge structure necessitate repairs. To address this, the southern distributor road, including the connections from the A485 (coming from Gießen) to the A45 (direction Frankfurt) and from the A45 (direction Frankfurt) to the A485 (direction Gießen) in the Gießen South Cross have been closed since 21st June.
To accommodate the closure, the detour route for the closed traffic connection from the A45 (coming from Dortmund) to the A485 in the direction of Gießen has been optimized, allowing for a detour around the highway service area 1.5 kilometers after the South Cross. The detour for the closed traffic connection will be via the A485 interchange Langgöns.
Those coming from the A45 from the north should exit at the Wetzlar-Ost exit and then take the B49 in the direction of Gießen. Traffic on the A485 from Gießen is advised to take the B49 in the direction of Limburg via the motorway junction Bergwerkswald until the exit Wetzlar-Ost, and then continue on the A45 in the direction of Frankfurt, or continue to the exit Langgöns and then change their direction of travel.
To ensure the safety of the workers and the longevity of the structure, a monitoring system will be installed on the bridge to continuously monitor the structure. Additionally, due to maintenance work on the A45, the existing car detour for the closed connection from the A45 (from Dortmund) to the A485 (in the direction of Giessen) will be closed for seven hours on 17th February.
The operational service detour at the Salzlager on the A45 shortly behind the Giessen South Interchange will not be accessible for four nights, from 19:00 to 06:00, in the week of 16-20 September. The connection from Giessen to Frankfurt in the South Interchange will be reopened, but the exact date was not specified in the provided report.
The Westphalia Highway is also renewing the lane markings in the area of the Giessen South Interchange, which will close the existing car detour route for the closed connection from the A45 from Dortmund to the A485 in the direction of Giessen for four nights.
Preparatory work for the bridge structure in the Giessen South Cross started on 24th March 2025, reducing traffic on the A485 to one lane in both directions for an estimated eight weeks. No further damages that restrict the load-bearing capacity of the structure have been found.
The connection from the A485 from Giessen to the A45 in the direction of Frankfurt will be closed from Monday evening, 23rd June until approximately Saturday morning (05th July), for about a week. The connection from the A485 coming from Giessen to the A45 in the direction of Frankfurt will be reopened on the next Friday, 10th November, around 17:00.
In recent weeks, only one lane has been available for traffic participants in both directions on the A485 at the Giessen South Cross. The Westphalia Highway assures motorists that they are working diligently to complete the repairs and restore normal traffic flow as soon as possible.
