Slubice closes city bridge to Frankfurt (Oder) to transit traffic

In order to protect the bridge, the border crossing between the Polish town of Slubice and Frankfurt (Oder) will be closed to transit traffic as of Sunday morning. The reason for this is the high water level of the river.

Due to the increased risk of flooding, there will be traffic restrictions in the German-Polish border area on Sunday.

Specifically, this applies to Frankfurt (Oder) and Słubice, where flood level 1 already applies. Due to the increased risk of flooding on the Oder, the Polish city has a city bridge for non-domestic vehicles. High Slobice Municipality Website (Polish) There will be traffic restrictions starting at 7 a.m. on Sunday morning. However, this does not apply to residents of Slupice or people who work in the city.

Frankfurt (Oder) also assumes that public transport may be affected in areas of the city close to banks as of Sunday. According to the city transport company SVF, this could affect tram lines 2 and 3 to the European University Viadrina as well as bus lines 983 and 984. [svf-ffo.de] These lines may be restricted or rerouted for safety reasons. Special emergency forces are in control of critical areas and can begin taking action immediately if necessary, according to the carrier.

Residents and travelers to Slubice were not affected.

According to the Polish police, motorists should be directed to the Swiecó border crossing south of Frankfurt (Oder). Residents of the municipality and the region who go to Germany for work can enter the city and cross the Słubice-Frankfurt bridge.

The mayor of Slubice, Marzena Sdužněk, justifies these measures by saying that there should be no traffic jams in the current situation: “All services that are currently concerned with our safety due to the risk of flooding should be able to drive through the city without hindrance,” Sdužněk said.

The police recommend that people who live or work in Slubice carry a certificate proving that they work in the city – for example in retail, which is also open in Poland on Sundays.

Police in Slobice checking residence

According to the municipality, police patrols will then be deployed in several places within Slobice to check whether people are legally present in the city.

Other cities and communities along the Oder had not announced any restrictions on car or rail transport due to the flooding as of Saturday evening. Alert level 1 is currently in effect on some sections of the Oder River according to the State Office for the Environment, and alert level 3 will be reached in Frankfurt (Oder) on Tuesday and the highest level, 4, on Wednesday evening.

Slubice prohibits entry into the dam and fishing.

On Saturday afternoon, the crisis team in Slubice announced on slubice24.pl website (in Polish) It is now forbidden to enter the dam due to the high water level of the Oder River. Fishing is also prohibited. Police patrols are checking the dams.

The construction of dams and filling of sandbags for the population were carried out by the relevant departments and the Polish army, according to the crisis team.

This could mean imposing controls on all state borders in Berlin and Brandenburg.

In order to limit the number of unauthorized entries, the federal government has ordered controls at all German land borders. There must also be “effective rejection”. An overview of how this affects the situation at the German-Polish border and BER airport.more

Train traffic is currently not affected by the floods – except for the cultural train to Wrocław

According to Deutsche Bahn, the cultural train between Berlin or Cottbus and Wrocław will be cancelled until Sunday. Otherwise, train traffic in the Brandenburg border region was not affected by the flooding as of Saturday evening. Four railway crossings connect Brandenburg residents to the neighboring Polish provinces of West Pomerania and Lebus:

This is possible upon request of rbb. german railways There are currently no restrictions or cancellations expected in the German-Polish border area due to flooding.

The Niederbarnheim Railway (NEB), which operates route RB26 from Berlin to Köstrzen, currently also has There are no reports of flood restrictions on their website.The Oder Bridge between Küstrin-Kietz (Germany) and Kostratin (Poland) was reopened at the end of July.

Border controls To Poland stays in place

Other border crossings for vehicle traffic across the Oder are currently not affected by flood-related restrictions.

However, fixed border controls have been in place at three major border crossings between Brandenburg and Poland since October 2023: in Forst on the A15 motorway, on the A12 motorway near Frankfurt (Oder) and on the Frankfurt city bridge to Słubice. In recent months, there have been occasional delays of hours on the return journey from Poland. In addition, the police have recently shown an increased presence on the Europe Bridge in Neurodnitz.

Other links to Poland include pedestrian bridges and two ferries (Noelwin – Gozdowice, Oreth – Orad).

Broadcast: Antenne Brandenburg, September 21, 2024, 10:00 AM