Rahmede Viaduct

Rahmede Viaduct was a highway bridge that carried Bundesautobahn 45 over a valley near the city of Lüdenscheid. The structure measured 453 meters long, stood 75 meters above the valley floor, and supported a roadway about 32 meters wide.

The bridge opened in 1968 during the expansion of Germany's motorway system and connected communities across North Rhine-Westphalia for decades. Structural issues led to its permanent closure in December 2021 before it was brought down through a controlled demolition in May 2023.

The structure represents German engineering principles of the 1960s, integrating transportation infrastructure within the natural landscape of Märkischer Kreis.

The structure no longer exists and can only be considered as a historical event today. The May 2023 demolition required around 300 pounds of explosives and represented the largest bridge demolition in Germany at that time.

The demolition marked a turning point in German transportation history and was the largest bridge removal project in the country at the time of its execution. The closure and subsequent removal interrupted a central connection in the North Rhine-Westphalia motorway network and required extensive detours for several months.

Location: Lüdenscheid

Inception: 1968

Height: 75 m

Length: 453 m

Width: 31.75 m

GPS coordinates: 51.24944,7.62028

Latest update: December 13, 2025 18:37