Host Nation Update, March. 14, 2024
Heslach Tunnel closed for four nights
According to the city’s civil engineering department, maintenance and repair work needs to be done in the Heslach Tunnel. The tunnel will be closed to traffic for four nights.
Drivers who want to drive through the Heslach Tunnel at night from March 18th to 21st will have to choose a different route. The important connection between the city center and Schattenring is closed because, according to the city’s civil engineering department, maintenance and repair work needs to be done in the tube between Marienplatz and Südheimer Platz.
However, the work will be completed at night, which is why the tunnel remains accessible in both directions during the day. The closure begins at 9 p.m. on all four days and ends at 5 a.m. The diversion routes are signposted.
Strike at Lufthansa – Verdi calls on aviation security staff to continue warning strikes on Friday
The trade union Verdi has called on aviation security staff to continue warning strikes at several German airports on Friday. According to Verdi negotiator Wolfgang Pieper, the strikes will then gradually affect the five airports in Hanover, Dortmund, Weeze, Dresden and Leipzig. Hanover Airport announced on Wednesday: “For this reason, no departures will be possible on Friday, March 15, 2024 from 00:00 to 12:00. Arrivals are not affected.” Verdi has already called for further warning strikes by aviation security staff at five German airports this Thursday. According to the union, the all-day strike will gradually affect Hamburg, Stuttgart, Karlsruhe/Baden Baden, Cologne and Berlin airports over the course of the night. Passengers will no longer be able to enter the security area. An extension of the strike had not previously been ruled out. According to estimates by the airport association ADV, around 90,000 passengers will have to prepare for flight cancellations and delays at the five German airports due to the announced warning strike on Thursday. The association currently expects more than 580 flight connections to be canceled on Thursday alone. (Stuttgarter Nachrichten, Mar 14, 24)
Delays with Stuttgart 21 – What are the reasons for postponing the opening of S 21?
Instead of being on the home stretch, Stuttgart 21 is once again in troubled waters. The opening, which Deutsche Bahn stubbornly announced for December 2025 until recently, is more than questionable – at least the scope of the infrastructure that will then be in operation. Deutsche Bahn itself is now saying that it is currently “determining the sequence in which the various newly built infrastructure components will go into operation in coordination with the available fleet.” This makes the state the first project partner of Stuttgart 21 – which includes the city of Stuttgart, Deutsche Bahn and the region in addition to Baden-Württemberg – to consider a later commissioning possible. Stuttgart’s mayor Frank Nopper (CDU), on the other hand, demanded last week that Deutsche Bahn “make a binding announcement as soon as possible as to how things will proceed.” The next opportunity will be next week. The Railway Supervisory Board will meet on March 20, after which the project partners will be informed. The regional councilors, who are members of the transport committee, are required to keep March 27 free for a non-public meeting of their committee – but this will only take place if there is something to discuss. As is so often the case with Stuttgart 21, the local protagonists are waiting for Deutsche Bahn. Another issue is that the planned routing for passengers does not yet provide for a transfer between “upstairs” and “downstairs” and would therefore have to be replanned. There is also the question of how passengers will get to the underground tracks by the end of 2025. The Bonatzbau, through which the tracks are to pass, will still be a major construction site, and the conversion of the listed building is still behind schedule. Parts of Stuttgart 21 that were rescheduled or added to the project at a later date will not be completed before 2026. This applies to both the airport railway station and the extension of the connection to the existing lines near Wendlingen. If the commissioning of the through station were also postponed to this date, there would be no need for interim solutions.
What’s on at the weekend in and around Leonberg – Games evening, sauna, cleaning
Let’s start the weekend tips on a musical note – with the spring concert in the Strohgäuhalle in Höfingen. Music lovers from near and far will gather there on Saturday to listen to the Musikverein Höfingen from 7.30 pm. Their orchestra will offer a mixture of concertante and entertaining pieces. Meanwhile, there will be dancing in Renningen on Sunday at the TSC Renningen Malmsheim dance tea. In the springtime decorated Stegwiesenhalle, visitors can put their feet on the dance floor – and enjoy the buffet and show performances by a guest couple in between. The event starts at 3 pm, the hall opens at 2.30 pm. Visitors to the long sauna night in Ditzingen can also work up a sweat. On Saturday, guests can relax with special infusions in the municipal baths from 5 to 11 pm. The baths are also open from 8 pm to 10 pm. In Weil der Stadt, Saturday is all about cleaning up – at the annual forest and field clean- up. Local clubs, institutions, groups and schools, as well as individuals, are invited to collect the carelessly discarded garbage in the woods and meadows. It starts at 8.30 a.m. at various meeting points in all districts. From 12.30 pm, a meal awaits the helpers at the DRK rescue station next to the fire station in Weil der Stadt (Grabenstraße).
