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ADAC Reports Longer Jams in 2025 as Fresh A7 Crash Near Kassel Shuts Northbound Lanes

ADAC points to aging bridges driving longer jams in 2026.

Overview

  • Drivers spent about 478,000 hours in traffic on Germany’s autobahns in 2025, up roughly 7% year over year, as total jam length edged to about 866,000 kilometers while recorded incidents fell to 496,000.
  • Congestion was heaviest on the overregional A1, A3, A5 and A8, with North Rhine-Westphalia accounting for about 35% of jam hours, followed by Bavaria at 13% and Baden‑Württemberg at 10%.
  • Hamburg’s A7 and A1 remained bottlenecks due to Elbtunnel overdecking works and the ailing Norderelbbrücke, leaving the city top in jam hours per autobahn kilometer, according to ADAC data reported by local media.
  • The A49 link near Kassel reshaped flows in 2025, cutting A7 jam hours by about 83% northbound and 59% southbound, while local officials reported more traffic and complaints on the Kassel corridor.
  • A multi‑vehicle crash on the A7 near Fuldabrück early Feb. 7 left two people seriously injured and closed the northbound carriageway between Guxhagen and Kassel‑Süd for hours until around 11 a.m., police said.