Road closed Fallen tree branch creates traffic chaos
Niederkassel · Traffic chaos greeted Wednesday morning commuters due to a fallen tree branch.
For around 11 hours beginning Tuesday evening, the L269 at Niederkassel-Mondorf was closed to all traffic. The culprit – a tree branch which had fallen partly onto the road. Fire department workers who were called to the scene, feared that other trees had also been weakened by the storm and might also fall onto the road. Police decided to close it off entirely as of 10:30 p.m.
Traffic chaos ensued during the Wednesday morning commute hours. Officials from the North Rhine Westphalia (NRW) roadworks reviewed the situation in the morning, and decided the situation was not as dramatic as originally thought. Only one old tree posed a threat and needed to be cut down. In the previous weeks, trees and branches had already been trimmed or cut down to prevent damage from snow and wind.
It is not clear if all of the trees in that area are on public or private property so further measures will need to be discussed with the community. As of 9:30 on Wednesday morning, the L269 was deemed safe enough to open and commuters could get on their way.
(Orig. text: kjs)
