The cycle highway will be 100 kilometres long and 100% car-free. It will connect 10 cities and four universities in the country once it is finished.
Germany plans to build one of the most ambitious cycle highways in Europe. A network of 100 kilometres of rail that will connect 10 cities in the country, such as Duisburg, Bochum and Hamm, in addition to four universities. Those responsible for the project estimate that it will help get 50,000 cars off the road every day.
The bicycle highway will be very similar to a conventional highway for motor vehicles. It will have several lanes of passage, level crossings, underpasses for crossings and streetlights. The bicycles will circulate without any other motorized vehicle next to them.
The project was born in 2010 when a cultural event caused the closure of the road that connects the towns of Duisburg and Dortmund. More than three million people then began to use it to get around on foot, by bicycle and on skates. The idea convinced the authorities, who declared the closure permanent. Subsequently, in 2015, the first five-kilometre section between Mülheim an der Ruhr and Essen was opened.
Cycle highways are being replicated in several European countries. Large and ambitious infrastructures that aim to further streamline bicycle transport for the sake of cleaner air and less congested cities. Capitals such as London or Berlin have opened different sections in recent years.
