The cause: A search for a possible aircraft bomb. During repair work a suspicious object was found, eight meters beneath the road surface, which might be an unexploded ordnance device. Motorists should bring strong nerves and avoid the area as much as possible.

According to Straßen.NRW, the closure is scheduled to be conducted gradually. Since Saturday morning, 4am, the A1 is closed between the Leverkusen-West interchange and the Cologne-Niehl connection, in the direction of Koblenz.

The best possible scenario, according to Straßen NRW, on Thursday, October 12, two lanes will be available towards Koblenz again. Should the suspicion of the object being a bomb prove true, the opposite lanes towards Dortmund will be closed as well.

The explosive ordnance disposable squad and the regulator agency Cologne will decide on the exact times of the closure as well as the disarming. The closure will be extended in this case and the A1 will only be reopened on all three lanes by the coming weekend.

Detours are in place: From the North, take the A46 from the Hilden interchange and use the A57. From the East, choose the A3 from the Leverkusen interchange and then the A4.

If at all possible, try to avoid the area by car and use other forms of transport, Straßen.NRW suggests. There are several park and ride spots with tram connections. Bicycles are also an alternative option: Both cycling paths on the Rhine bridge will stay open in both directions, and the foot paths also.

The responsible authorities appeal to employees to choose flexible hours at work if possible. Traffic around Cologne and Leverkusen is least busy before 6am, after 10am and after 7pm.

Cologne is expecting several traffic jams in the city centre because a lot of people will have to use the inner city roads to cross the Rhine. The food and drink fair Anuga will add to the traffic volume from Sunday on also.

There will also be problems with the train traffic over the next few days, because the switches at the main station will renewed. Between October 9 and October 16, the intercity transport will be diverted via the station Cologne-Messe Deutz and Bonn-Beuel.

To dispose of the possible bomb safely, a 4.5 by 4.5 meter deep hole will be dug, eight meters deep. For the last meter a special ordnance company will be in charge, beginning their work on Monday, October 9.

Should the suspicious object be a bomb indeed, which needs to be disposed of safely, the entire work will take approximately one day longer. A possible evacuation will be considered for the then scheduled disposal of the bomb.

After the disposal the hole will be closed again and the road resurfaced. According to Straßen.NRW, the commuter traffic should be back to normal by Monday, October 16, on all four lanes and both directions.

The suspected bomb find happened while working on a new drainage channel. The works on it must be finished before the flooding season starting at the end of October.

Original text: general-anzeger-bonn.de/ Translation: Mareike Graepel