German autobahn crumbling as heat damage spreads

[Eugene]

Source: dpa German Press Agency

German autobahn crumbling as heat damage spreads

DPA
Sat, June 27, 2026 at 11:57 AM EDT1 min read

Extreme heat has caused growing damage to one of Germany's main east-west motorways, forcing additional closures and lengthy traffic delays as temperatures continued to soar across the country.

The affected section of the A2 motorway, which connects Berlin with western Germany, is steadily expanding near the town of Ziesar, according to police.

"The A2 is continuing to break apart," a police spokesman said on Saturday. "As a result, one interchange after another has to be closed."

Traffic is being diverted onto local roads, but authorities warned that some sections of the motorway in the Ziesar area, located in the eastern state of Brandenburg, have deteriorated so severely that vehicles can no longer travel safely across the surface.

The closures have led to traffic jams on one of Germany's most important transport corridors. Heat damage to the roadway was first identified on Thursday near Burg in the direction of Hanover and between Ziesar and Wollin on the route towards Berlin.

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Read more: https://www.yahoo.com/news/world/articles/german-autobahn-crumbling-heat-damage-155731541.html