A1 motorway construction site near Bremen sees four fatalities

A construction site on the A1 motorway near the Weser River bridge close to Bremen has become one of Germany’s most dangerous traffic bottlenecks. Since March, four people have died in accidents in this area. A recent fatal collision on August 25 involved three trucks and two cars at the end of a traffic jam between the Stur junction and the Brinkum exit.

Bremerhaven police reported over 300 traffic accidents at the construction site in 2025 alone, resulting in two deaths and 56 injuries. The site handles approximately 130,000 vehicles daily, with trucks accounting for 24 percent of the volume. Construction is necessary to repair corrosion, material fatigue cracks, and damage to bearings and the roadway.

To avoid closing the bridge entirely, repairs are being conducted while maintaining traffic, a process expected to continue until early 2028. Authorities have implemented new speed limits, increased police patrols, and installed digital warning systems, but police cite improper speed, insufficient following distances, fatigue, and ignored signage as primary causes of the accidents.