The Hermsdorfer Kreuz is a

cloverleaf interchange A cloverleaf interchange is a two-level interchange in which all turns are handled by slip roads. To go left (in right-hand traffic; reverse directions in left-driving regions), vehicles first continue as one road passes over or under the ...

in the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

state

Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and larg ...

. The motorway interchange forms the connection between the A9 Dreieck Potsdam-Munich and the A4 Kirchheimer Dreieck-Polish border northeast of

Görlitz Görlitz (; pl, Zgorzelec, hsb, Zhorjelc, cz, Zhořelec, :de:Ostlausitzer Mundart, East Lusatian dialect: ''Gerlz'', ''Gerltz'', ''Gerltsch'') is a town in the Germany, German state of Saxony. It is located on the Lusatian Neisse River, and ...

Geography

The motorway interchange lays in the municipal area of Schleifreisen in the

Saale-Holzland-Kreis Saale-Holzland (official German name: Saale-Holzland-Kreis) is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the east of Thuringia, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from the north clockwise) the district Burgenlandkreis in Saxony-Anhalt, the district-free city Ger ...

, near the towns of Hermsdorf and Reichenbach. It is a major important traffic connection between the east-west A4 connecting the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

with Poland and the A9 connecting

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

via

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

to the Austrian cities of

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; bar, Innschbruck, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian ) is the capital of Tyrol (state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the ...

and

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian) is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the ...

History

The traffic infrastructure of the Hermsdorfer Kreuz has its origins in old merchant routes that ran via Hermsdorf,

Regensburg Regensburg or is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the Danube, Naab and Regen rivers. It is capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the state in the south of Germany. With more than 150,000 inhabitants, Regensburg is the f ...

and Tyrnau (

Trnava Trnava (, german: Tyrnau; hu, Nagyszombat, also known by other alternative names) is a city in western Slovakia, to the northeast of Bratislava, on the Trnávka river. It is the capital of a ''kraj'' (Trnava Region) and of an '' okres'' (Trna ...

) towards Rome. The interchange proper exists since December 1936. It was built to finish the

Reichsautobahn The ''Reichsautobahn'' system was the beginning of the German autobahns under Nazi Germany. There had been previous plans for controlled-access highways in Germany under the Weimar Republic, and two had been constructed, but work had yet to star ...

9 as a continues link between Berlin und Munich. This makes the Hermsdorfer Kreuz the second oldest motorway interchange in Germany, after the Schkeuditzer Kreuz. In 1989 approximately 15,000 vehicles passed the interchange on a daily basis. After the

German reunification German reunification (german: link=no, Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) was the process of re-establishing Germany as a united and fully sovereign state, which took place between 2 May 1989 and 15 March 1991. The day of 3 October 1990 when the Ge ...

, traffic grew to approximately 45,000 vehicles per day.

Reconstruction in the 1990s

Between 1989 and 1992 the Hermsdorfer Kreuz was reconstructed to meet the requirements for European motorway interchanges at that time. In the process, three new motorway bridges and a 2,5 km soundbarrier were constructed and a 24 km stretch of motorway was upgraded. On 15 December 1992 the reconstructed Hermsdorfer Kreuz was opened to traffic.

Planned reconstruction

Immediately after the reconstruction of the Hermsdorfrer Kreuz and its opening in 1992 it was stated that another reconstruction would be required starting in 2010. Further reconstructions were then intended to follow, including upgrading both motorways to a 2x3 lane layout, with the aim of providing smoother traffic flow between the A4 coming from

Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital and largest city in the Central German state of Thuringia. It is located in the wide valley of the Gera river (progression: ), in the southern part of the Thuringian Basin, north of the Thuringian Forest. It sits i ...

. Semi-direct two lane on-ramps were intended to mitigate traffic jams due to the expected rising vehicle numbers on the A4 and A9. In December 2010, it was announced that reconstruction work would begin at the end of 2014 or the start of 2015. The stated reason for this delay were the costs for the planned pedestrian/cycle bridge over the A9. In 2012, it was announced that due to reconstruction will not start earlier than 2020, due to a pending lawsuit by the Hermsdorf municipality and ongoing protests. A total work duration of three years has been estimated.

Traffic on the interchange

In 2012, approximately 110,000 vehicles passed the interchange on a daily basis.

References

External links

{{Commons category Hermsdorf