According to ADAC, on the Thursday and Friday before Christmas, commuters, family visitors and holidaymakers ensure that the highways in NRW are full.
Motorists should expect full motorways in North Rhine-Westphalia around Christmas, especially on 22 and 23 December. That’s all ADAC in NRW in its congestion forecast. “On the Thursday and Friday before Christmas, commuters, family visitors and holidaymakers all hit the road at the same time in the afternoon,” says ADAC traffic expert Prof. Dr. Sutold Romano. However, the club is not expecting traffic chaos given the numbers of traffic jams in recent years ahead of the upcoming holidays. The greatest congestion potential is on the motorways A1 (Cologne – Dortmund – Münster), A2 (Dortmund – Bielefeld), A3 (Cologne – Frankfurt), A40 (Duisburg – Dortmund) and A43 (Wuppertal – Recklinghausen) and on the Cologne motorway ring ( A1, A3, A4).
On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, the ADAC expects little traffic on the main roads in NRW. “Drivers who drive to their family at Christmas arrive at their destination much more relaxed and faster on Saturday morning than on Friday,” advises the ADAC expert. “But if you’re depending on December 23 as your travel date, you should ideally avoid rush hour, i.e. don’t drive during the morning and afternoon rush hours, but rather start at lunchtime,” when many people go home from family visits. Compared to the days before Christmas, however, a lower traffic volume is to be expected.
After the Christmas days, the ADAC in NRW expects fewer traffic jams on the highways until New Year’s Eve. “This time is usually one of the least busy times of the year,” Suthold explains. “A lot of people took vacation in the week after Christmas, they use the time to rest and they don’t travel much.” The club expects fewer people to head to the Alps than in pre-Corona times. Ski holidays are significantly more expensive than in previous years. Many ski resorts have increased their prices, also due to the general energy crisis. “Even if all ski holiday traffic in NRW goes via the A3 due to the closed A45, this should be barely noticeable on the motorway,” says the traffic expert.
These are the most important traffic jams in Germany during the Christmas holidays:
– Large areas of Hamburg, Berlin, Cologne, Frankfurt and Munich
– A1 Cologne – Dortmund – Bremen – Hamburg
– A2 Dortmund – Hanover – Braunschweig – Berlin
– A3 Cologne – Frankfurt – Nuremberg – Passau
– A4 Kirchheimer Dreieck – Erfurt – Dresden
– A5 Hattenbacher Dreieck – Karlsruhe
– A6 Heilbronn – Nuremberg
– A7 Hamburg – Hannover and Würzburg – Füssen/Reutte
– A8 Karlsruhe – Stuttgart – Munich – Salzburg
– A9 Munich – Nuremberg – Berlin
– Berlin ring A10
– A24 Hamburg – Berlin
– A61 Mönchengladbach – Koblenz – Ludwigshafen
– A81 Stuttgart – Singen
– A93 Inntal Triangle – Kufstein
– A95 /B2 Munich – Garmisch-Partenkirchen
– A99 Munich ring road
Current Information on the situation of construction sites in NRW and all German motorists can find below https://www.adac.de/reise_freizeit/verkehr/baustellen.
One individual congestion forecast with information about the exact day and time, motorists can use the ADAC route planner at the address https://maps.adac.de (button “Traffic situation in real time”). The planned departure time can be set with the time controller. Traffic forecasts for the desired route can be obtained using the zoom function on the map.
ADAC roadside assistance: The ADAC also provides breakdown assistance for injured members during Christmas and New Years. ADAC Roadside Assistance is available by phone on 089 20 20 4000, via the free Roadside Assistance app or online at www.adac.de/hilfe accessible.
UP O-Ton Pack (Audio) for editorial use you can download it here: https://cloud.adac-nrh.de/s/dzsbk6fyAYK9Kso
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