And they still exist: the sand lizards on the former embankment in Hafenlohr. Because the Hafenlohr bypass will in future run at this point, the reptiles have been regularly collected and relocated by the environmental agency Fabion from Wrzburg since 2019. Your new home is in the area of the old Staatsstrae, on the Hafenlohrer side between the old and new Mainbrcke.
The last inspections of the environmental office along the railway embankment route took place in September 2020. Then it got too cold for the animals. They can no longer move at temperatures below 15 degrees. “Our condition was that the population is considered resettled if no more animals are seen in three successive inspections,” explains biologist Renate Ullrich von Fabion. That was not the case until the end of September.
Therefore, the resettlement will be extended in 2021. However, limited: “We go about three to five more times, then we do a population estimate,” explains the biologist. The higher nature conservation authority will decide whether the resettlement is complete. The sighting will probably only start in March or April, when the ground warms up sufficiently and most of the animals are active again. New for the office: in 2021 the higher banks of the Hafenlohr, where it gets stony, will also be searched.
Could the flood have bothered the animals? After all, their habitat is in the floodplain. “Nobody really knows where the sand lizards hibernate. But they keep coming out,” explains Ullrich. Despite the flood.
Whereby the flood at the beginning of the year was more “high water” in Thorsten Schwab’s eyes. “Nobody in town got nervous about it,” he describes. That is a good thing, because the construction of the flood protection is only due after the road has been built on the Maintrasse.
The former railway bridge at the level of Hauptstrasse 47 and 49 is the first to fall
In terms of circumvention, minor preparatory work is currently underway in Hafenlohr. For example, the approaches to the Main down at the starting points of the route in the north and south are already being prepared. After all, tree felling should be done before the start of the vegetation phase in March. This is also confirmed by Julia Sauer from the Wrzburg State Building Authority. In January, the mayor exchanged views on the current status of the measure. “Now that we have a legally binding plan approval decision, we can take the next steps,” confirms Sauer. If the sand lizards are relocated, the first thing to do is to demolish building three, the former railway bridge at the level of Hauptstrasse 47 and 49, as this is the easiest to access. The demolition also marks the official start of construction. The official groundbreaking ceremony will also take place here.
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At the same time, the EU-wide tender for the award of the implementation planning to an engineering office is currently being prepared. For this purpose, subsoil investigations are still required. The citizens are informed via press releases about what is happening and when, says Sauer. Traffic restrictions are not expected this year.
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