Overview
- Autobahn GmbH says the A8 Albaufstieg has begun ground investigations and enabling works in 2026, with main construction scheduled for autumn 2027 on a €1.4 billion project.
- Opposition figures from the FDP and SPD criticized the spade-cutting held about a month before the Baden-Württemberg election, calling it a staged event given the gap before major works.
- Officials said the ceremony coincided with the first geotechnical borehole and that drainage installation and construction roads must precede bridges, tunnels and earthworks.
- Ministerpräsident Winfried Kretschmann and Chancellery chief Thorsten Frei attended, while Federal Transport Minister Patrick Schnieder and state transport minister Winfried Hermann were absent due to a Berlin rail security meeting.
- The A7 expansion between Bad Fallingbostel and Dorfmark will not start in 2026, with the Autobahn-GmbH citing noise-protection design, permitting and possible legal challenges; the earliest start is 2027 and the section is expected to take three to four years.