Road in a box: The Hösbach autobahn enclosure

[@rewboss]

Physicists, electrical engineers, etc. of KZbin: Yes, I meant "gigawatt-hours". It's been 35 years since I was last in a physics class, and I mindlessly quoted from a news article that said "17 million kilowatts". Thanks to all those who have already pointed this out to me. :)

[@RoyvanLierop]

Watt is Joule/second so Watt-hour is J/s * hours -> 3600 * Joule. Watt is the flow of Joules over time and Watt-hour is the counting of the Joules.

[@MikeBova1]

All you need is 121 gigawatts to go back in time I saw it in a movie once

[@danielcarroll3358]

I had to go to the comments to see how long it took. Physicist and Electrical Engineer here. :)

[@km5405]

i was about to write a reply ; )

[@leerman22]

Over 7 years, is that a lot? My math says it's only 277KW continuous so compensate for Germany's capacity factor ~10% means ~2.77MW installed capacity.

[@mgsp5871]

In 20m distance the noise is the same, but in 200m the open system is louder. Acoustics are tricky

[@wohlhabendermanager]

The open system can even make it LOUDER at certain distances and heights, because the sound waves are reflected off the walls.

[@kaymish6178]

Yeah in my city there has been this issue with new sound barriers along the southern motorway expansion. There use to be a thick area with trees and bushes planted to absorb the sound but the council removed them to make 2 extra lanes on each side and replaced the trees with concrete sound barriers, they were better for the people right up against the barriers but much worse for everyone else.

[@gregor-samsa]

@@wohlhabendermanager that's right an can be heard near the Bergstrasse between Heidelberg and Weinheim.. its the same that 2nd and 3rd floor are loudest next to.a.street. not ground floor.!

[@adamabele785]

The real trouble is at night and the heavy traffic that you can hear even at a greater distance. Long distance freight prefers the hours of the night and A3 is one of the roads with endless rolling trucks one after another over 1000 km. I am sure the people living in those places would not give it away for money.

[@mgsp5871]

@@kaymish6178 according to my acoustic expert, trees and bushes shield next to nothing

[@wohlhabendermanager]

Sounds like one of Tom Scott's AI generated video titles: "The tunnel that refuses to be a tunnel"

[@stefans4562]

this.

[@nathan87]

Sounds like one of Tom Scott's completely AI generated videos. Included the visuals. This actually doesn't exist. At all.

[@andie_pants]

OMG you're right... it does! 🤣

[@gui18bif]

Why cant we enjoy smaller channels withoht mentioning that bastard

[@deusexaethera]

I had the exact same thought.

[@nTubeVideoChannel]

It's wrong, that brown signs are only used for tourist attractions. In Germany, brown signs are also used for rivers and canals or long bridges and tunnels.

[@olmkiujnb]

In Germany rivers, canals, longs bridges and tunnels are tourist destinations ;)

[@BrosBrothersLP]

yes because we actually see nature as worth showing off

[@schwig44]

We have brown signs for those things too. For example there's a bunch that mark out the old route of the Erie Canal. I've also seen them denote "Wildlife Corridors" along the sides of highways and such

[@wiedapp]

Let's exchange the word attractions for the word information. At least in the practical sense that works out.

[@oli-pr1xl]

These signs are often green with yellow writing too and not only brown.

[@elonmush4793]

Since we already have the tunnel, why not just put a mountain on top of it?

[@ca9603]

Thanks for this laugh 😅😂.......

[@tobyk.4911]

glass windows, solar panels, and air ventilation openings... this is not built for being fully covered

[@fie1329]

But... What about the solar panels? Ah! Put them on the mountain side to raise efficiency and add a wind turbine on top! That sounds like a nice project for the future of Hösbach :D

[@demioxdtouring]

nah, just put a race track on it

[@mrt1r]

A solution to a problem that wasn't a problem created as a solution to a problem that wasn't a problem. I like it.

[@Vaati1992]

This would also make a great Tom Scott video xD

[@JanHouben]

Collaboration coming?

[@sonkeschluter3654]

Just what i was thinking

[@ThePixel1983]

Did his AI propose this title? - *frames title with hands* "The tunnel without a mountain"

[@holger_p]

Tom Scott is travelling to such locations. Rewboss ist more a neighborhood reporter, accidently came to live there.

[@ThePixel1983]

@@holger_p True.

[@volkergrimm3815]

In Germany we also have Bridges without streets. They are build that wild animals can cross the Highways without problems

[@kaikobold7016]

And there are also bridges which are called "so da Brücke". translates to "just there bridge" which are standing somewhere. Which are not for animals. They where supposed to be connected to a road but the road was never built.

[@laurencefraser]

Huh. First time I've heard of it being done that way around. Usually you see/hear about underpasses rather than bridges for animals.

[@volkergrimm3815]

This bridges don't looks like bridges for cars. This are big areas with trees and vegetation wich crosses the higways. In some areas you can not go under the street.

[@Sp4mMe]

Wild- or Grünbrücken. They look more like tunnels; if you don't know those are artificial grounds above artificial structures you'd think they just tunneled through some inconvenient bit of landscape. There's waaaaaay too few around right now and they are (comparatively) not even that expensive, so hopefully they'll keep adding them over the years.

[@NicolaW72]

@@kaikobold7016 Indeed.

[@fireflyfireworks668]

To be fair, the engineers didn't anticipated frequent accidents and fires, but the addition of permanent barriers and signalling really is just a precaution taken at almost every section of street (not necessarily Autobahn-only) where accidents may have catastrophic outcomes. You'll find them at almost every (Autobahn) tunnel longer than about 100m, as it is safer and faster in case of emergency, rather than having workers putting up mobile barriers, and in the meantime having vehicles still driving into an enclosed space filling with toxic gases and smoke etc. Side note: Enclosures longer than 400m are legally regarded as tunnels and therefore need the emergency installations just as them.

[@seraphina985]

I mean they essentially are for all practical purposes and especially when it comes to things like fire where they are still horizontal chimneys that will redirect heat and smoke towards other people and fuel laden vehicles.

[@timderks5960]

Exactly, these kinds of things are just normal precautions in the EU, because we know that moving cars in enclosed spaces can be very dangerous.

[@vophatechnicus]

In fact regarding RABT and EABT80/100 every tunnel over 80m is considered a tunnel. ;)

[@nicolasblume1046]

"the tunnel without a mountain"... The Dutch be like: Yeah, isn't that normal?

[@Aelsenaer]

We also have (what we call) landtunnels. The A2 landtunnel in Maastricht and also the A2 landtunnel in Utrecht are great examples. Technical it is the same as the tunnel as seen in the clip above. Only they have been lowered into the ground with public parks on top.

[@PiousMoltar]

England and France: "Mountain? Pfft we tunnelled under the sea!"

[@quickwimnl]

@@Aelsenaer The tunnel near Utrecht isn't lowered. But it has a residential area above it.

[@quickwimnl]

@@PiousMoltar the Dutch: "We can't afford a tunnel under the sea. Let's move the sea.

[@Aelsenaer]

@@quickwimnl you're right, the surrounding ground level has been raised. Building on top of a tunnel is unusual. Buildings are generally considered too heavy. I am now interested in the structural solutions, taking into account the buildings on top.

[@Seegalgalguntijak]

In addition to all this, it's Solar friggin' Roadways done right - at last!

[@divingdave2945]

Instead of being expensive and not functional, it is expensive and functional.

[@theuncalledfor]

@@divingdave2945 Well, perhaps if solar is the point rather than a nice addition, it would be a good idea to use a... cheaper structure.

[@otm646]

90 million euro? And this is doing it right? You sure you don't want to revise that statement?

[@theuncalledfor]

@@otm646 Don't forget that solar is not the point of this structure. It's a noise barrier. That's what they paid 90 million for.

[@fie1329]

@@theuncalledfor They also paid part of the 90 million to make the read wider. The A3 was a 4 lane Autobahn with two lanes in each direction which basically meant that you would have traffic jams all the time. They decided to upgrade to 6 lanes which resulted in much less jams and in the process of upgrading they needed a solution to protect the nearby residentials from the additional noise. The solution they found is in the Video. And the later added solar panels just make the structure, that was there anyways, much more usefull. The panels even pay a bit for the structures maintenance.

[@holger_p]

Well recherched documentation. You just forgot about the speed limit, it's done for noise reduction and is obligatory in a tunnel anway. So you have to slow down from your 250 to 100km/h.

[@Nathan-dk4mv]

Driving 250 in that traffic would be crazy anyways. Yeah: You would be allowed to do it, but that doesn´t means you should... 120-130 km/h is absolutely enough there.

[@holger_p]

@@Nathan-dk4mv People are not rational, especially not people in cars. If you don't prohibit it, a few percent will do it, and be loud.

[@TremereTT]

@@Nathan-dk4mv It all depends on the amount of assistent systems in your car. In my expirience every generation of cars did increase my comfortable travel speed by 30 to 50 km/h. Polo classic 110 km/h no assisted steering , no ABS ...nothing...just brake servo as all cars have. Seat Toledo 140 km/h , ABS only VW Passat 3BG 1.8T 160 km/h , ABS + ESP, also the car handles like it's glued to the street. VW Passat B7 200 km/h , ABS+ESP+LANE-Assist, Collision Avvoidance (Automatic breaking) &c... The save travelspeed increased with everygeneration of car I drove. And I allways drove cars that are 10 years or more behind the current technology. I wonder what a production new car will add in safety systems....I allready caught that Electric cars will be basically all about driving below the recomendet speed....to increase the range...

[@rotsteinkatze3267]

You mean from lightspeed. On German Highways the Speedlimit is often Lightspeed. (And If you would break this Limit you get a after you Named Physics award, but we have no cases to prove this)

[@rotsteinkatze3267]

@@Nathan-dk4mv Yes it would be Crazy. You are allowed to Drive faster Then Light. (At least the goverment allows it)

[@civishamburgum1234]

Tunnels do not nessecarily cause more accidents, but due to the restricted space and lack of ventilation emergency response is limited. An accident requires at least one whole side of the tunnel to be closed, for the rescueservice to efeectivly operate. If a fire deveolopes the heat tends to rise so fast in the tunnel, that acces to the firesite by firemen gets impossible pretty fast, so most of the tiome, they have to wait for the fire to burn out.

[@almerindaromeira8352]

Naja, aber wenn du so einen Deckel baust, hast du die Chance zu bestimmen was für eine Feuerschutzanlage du hast. Es wäre überhaupt nicht schwierig z.B Wassereinspeisungsanschlüsse von draußen einzubauen für die Feuerwehr oder auch eine Sprinklerleitung. Das hilft massiv, da das zerstäubtes Wasser richtig viel Energie aus dem Feuer entzieht.

[@unitrader403]

@@almerindaromeira8352 egal wie gut die sprinkleranlagen sind, es ist trotzdem wichtig schnell und effizient zu verhindern dass noch mehr leute in einen Tunnel rein fahren, in dem es brennt oder der durch einen unfall komplett blockiert ist

[@almerindaromeira8352]

@@unitrader403 ich wollte nur die Vorteile dieser Bauweise gegenüber einem echten Tunnel behaupten.

[@albussr1589]

Sagt die Stadt mit dem Elbtunnel

[@almerindaromeira8352]

@@albussr1589 dadurch müssten wir die Berufsfeuerwehr umrüsten. Neue Wache, neue Fahrzeuge... Aber ein Tunnel kommt eh nie billig oder?

[@phiilo]

You better take a look at what is happening at the A7 next to Hamburg(Germany) right now. They enclosures being built there currently, are on a different scale. They will be strong enough to make room for urban housing on top of them. when finished, it will be close to 4KM long.

[@eisikater1584]

"the tunnel without a mountain", how amazing is that? "If we can't blast a hole through a rock, we build the rock instead." Looks like a good tourist destination to me.

[@jamesalles139]

I might even put it on my _Bucket List_ ...or *spoon list* , as it were

[@zwojack7285]

The City of Hamburg did the same thing recently

[@thedoublek4816]

@@Anson_AKB as far as I know, nobody wants to rent an apartment there, understandable 😅

[@Ashh602]

@@thedoublek4816 looks nice enough

[@Anson_AKB]

@@thedoublek4816 from the outside, (imho) the apartments look quite nice with terrace, etc, but on the inside it looks more like the usual _Wohnsilos_ (people storage buildings :-) with pretty naked long concrete corridors etc, with the only difference that these silos are built horizontally instead of vertically. i think that (at least for all appartments not directly above the tunnel) more than the Autobahn this fact makes people not want to live there ...

[@mattscudder1975]

Someone did a clip about the sound walls they put up along motorways and how they lower the sound for people living right next to motorway but increase it for those living half a mile or more from the motorway. I wouldn’t mind knowing if this box thing helps with that problem, because if it does then I’d say it was money well spent.

[@IwieIch123]

Ich freue mich sehr darauf, wenn die Autobahnüberdachung der A7 in Hamburg fertig ist!

[@divingdave2945]

Weil du kein Bock auf Stau hast oder weil du da wohnst?

[@kkon5ti]

Und dann sogar mit Flüsterasphalt!

[@IwieIch123]

@@divingdave2945 vor allem wegen dem Stau

[@Herzschreiber]

@@kkon5ti Der ziemlich schnell kaputt geht. Ja er ist leise. Aber er hält nicht lange. Wo ich wohne wurde entlang einer Schnellstrasse die durch einen Ort führt welcher angeschafft. Und nur ein paar Jahre später darf man wegen Strassenschäden dort nicht mehr 120 kmh fahren (wie zuvor und überall sonst auf dieser Straße), sondern 80kmh. Das Schild sagt "wegen Straßenschäden".

[@kkon5ti]

@@Herzschreiber doof

[@Arsenic71]

"...but at least it was finished on time." Touché 😁👍

[@flomoose7315]

Guys from the BER couldn't say that😬🥲

[@antlereddruid8359]

I grew up in Aschaffenburg and had a lot of friends in Goldbach and Hösbach, so it's interesting to see that this structure I am very much used to is seen as such an interesting thing in general

[@Tiney314]

I live there, in Hösbach, around 200m away from the highway. The enclosure is definitely worth it. It is beautifully silent, as if the highway isn't even there.

[@uncinarynin]

3:07 "and in their first seven years generated 17 gigawatts of electricity" - Watt is a unit of power, not of energy. Do you mean gigawatt-hours?

[@rewboss]

Possibly. I quoted exactly from a news article and didn't stop to think about that one.

[@JanHouben]

@@rewboss the newspapers' get these things wrong all of the time. Very annoying for engineers... 😅

[@phazonlord0098]

I don't blame him, everybody forgets that and only engineers remember it.

[@uncinarynin]

@@rewboss 2600 kW is the maximum power as can be found in Wikipedia and a Main-Echo article they quote (which, to read, annoyingly needs a google login and your agreement to them spamming you with mail). In the most ideal case (12 hours of full sunshine per day) that would amount to almost 80 GWh in seven years so the figure is plausible.

[@jamesalles139]

it does not matter if you pronounce it like Jigalo

[@christopherestewart]

Dig the roadway down, use the soil to make berms, and plant the berms with lots of vegetation and trees to absorb the sound.

[@JamesJansson]

Man who travels specifically to see a highway in a box questions whether it deserves a tourist attraction sign. From this person who watched a whole youtube video about it, I say "Yes!"

[@unconventionalideas5683]

It's really close to where he lives, as he lives just outside of Aschaffenburg, not far from where the box is located.

[@friddevonfrankenstein]

Hamburg is currently building the "Hamburger Deckel" (Hamburg Lid). That would be a really interesting topic for a video as well. At least so far it looks like an enclosure done correctly.

[@dennisshaykevich3451]

1:56 "The German Tax Payers Federation, A pressure group campaigning for small government and lower taxes..." TIL that Germany has Libertarians too.

[@BeryAb]

Well, we also have the FDP, who are all about tax cuts and civil liberties.

[@Galland_]

"TIL that Germany has Libertarians too." yes and they all know one another on a first name basis..

[@robhunt8682]

I went to Google to check this out on Street View then I remembered that nearly all of Germany isn't covered on Street View! :(

[@SpicyFiur]

The Brown shields are indeed for Tourists Attractions or rather - hey here's something interesting or historical like a river or a museum nearby.

[@RogueNationVideos]

ok, so here's the deal: we can cut the sound, but we have to build the chernobyl sarcophagus next to your house

[@untruelie2640]

"That's no tunnel. It's a space station."

[@Carrythedonger]

So after 2 years of living in Aschaffenburg and never understanding what the heck this was, a random youtube video explained it to me, thank you very much!

[@aarondewindt]

As for the wall vs box sound performance, the difference will be mostly felt at longer distances. At that distance you're in the wall's "shadow", so it's pretty much just as effective as the box. At a longer distance (few hundred meters) however, the sound waves coming of the top of the highway will be able to "radiate" out and reach the ground. I'm an Aerospace Control engineer who was forced to a noise emissions class back in uni.

[@Hamring]

Great video! :) In Norway there is a similar piece of problematic infrastructure. Like to the autobahn enclosure, it does its job well. But also similar to the ab enclosure, its an enclosed road (but an actual tunnel this time), there are electronic signs permanently displaying its operational status which i wonder why? Oh yeah right because its very often closed. To save length (and money i guess), they built it far too steep for its big traffic load, so there were some fires caused by people overheating their brakes. So now its got lowered speed limit, obnoxious "low gear" and "engine brake" signs, painted speed bumpy stripey things and average speed measuring speed cameras. Its even got its own unofficial website. The detours are also looong and horrible and *sigh* ... Oh but hey its got cool light features i guess. If anyone is interested, its an undersea tunnel named "Oslofjordtunnelen" and i am actually quite fascinated by the engineering behind it and undersea tunneling in general. I read about some challenges they had to overcome during construction and it blows me away that humans are actually able to tunnel under a fjord and i just casually drive through (in low gear)

[@ThePixel1983]

Thanks for introducing the Bund der Steuerzahler this way! ❤️

[@downhilltwofour0082]

Always interesting tours along with excellent narration! Thank you.

[@dappergander]

During many Canadian winters, I've often wished the highway was located in a box.

[@Kishanth.J]

This honestly doesn’t seem like a bad idea.

[@compphysgeek]

getting some Tim Traveller vibes at the end. I like it!

[@DarkAudit]

Got Tim Traveller vibes throughout the entire thing. I like it too!

[@arthur_p_dent]

We have a similar thing in Mainz, the ""Hechtsheimer Tunnel". Unlike the Hösbach enclosure, it even features an Autobahn exit. But yes, the tunnel is often closed because of fires, or, rather, because the automatic system detects fires that aren't really there. As a result, the tunnel is often closed for hours, causing major traffic congestions.

[@almerindaromeira8352]

Ihr braucht eine bessere Lüftungsanlage ;)

[@MonicaTheMad]

I've never heard of such a thing. Thanks for telling us about it! It's fascinating.

[@andrewsalmon100]

What a great thing! I love those little German towns.

[@johnwillett4086]

I drive this road a few times every year - I remember this being built and wondered what on earth it was when they started building it. I had to spend a week in Asshaffenberg a couple of years back when my car went "bang" on the Autobahn and I had to wait while it was repaired and I could continue my journey. But it is always an interesting change to a long journey along the A3 and, luckily for me, has always been open when I have travelled through it. My wife comments that it must be a rich area to afford to build such a tunnel to stop the noise for the residents.

[@otm646]

2:56 this is where you have to understand that sound propagates by the inverse square law. As in you don't need to get very far from the noise source, especially the relatively high frequencies that bother people from traffic, before the noise level becomes very similar to natural background. As Germany has a relatively strict controls on the noise emissions for big diesel trucks, your main sound component here is tire generated noise.

[@MaartenOtto]

We also have enclosed highways in the Netherlands, we on the other hand lower them into the ground and put a park on top of it so no one will notice a tunnel being there while dramatically improving living conditions for those nearby. The first “enclosed infrastructure” however was a rail route which has 9 parallel tracks just to the south of Rotterdam cutting right through the town of Barendrecht. It houses a new station and a large park on top. Then there is a new one in the A9 motorway in Amsterdam SouthEast and a bi-level one in Maastricht. Another one is on the drawing boards for Rotterdam North.

[@StravosRacing]

I use this tunnel every day over the last year...and every single time I had this question. Now I know! Danke!

[@talibjalloh928]

If I'm right, Rewboss, i think there is a similar rectangular box that serves the same purpose in Munich. It's made of of transparent glass...

[@explorer914]

Well I'm a big road geek. And I have put this on my road geek bucket list. 😁

[@Rammstein56]

Thanks, I do the A3 quite often and always wondered why this section was tunneled. Don't like the A3 with its numerous baustelle (roadworks) but once finished the A3 certainly improves. On the A3 you literally drive through Frankfurt airport which is a very busy spot as are Regensburg and Neurenberg

[@tyteen4a03]

Something similar exists in Hong Kong for a railway on the Tsuen Wan Line section between Kwai Fong and Kwai Hing. It's an elevated section of track but is fully encapsulated to reduce noise emissions.

[@MrOlivm]

Sounds diffracts over sound walls, and makes areas further away much louder than before

[@jackaylward-williams9064]

The bit about signs which are slow to update reminds me of the time when my mum was driving down the M6 somewhere near Warrington and saw an alert on the gantry which read “OBSTRUCTION IN THE ROAD!” after she’d already swerved hastily into the, thankfully empty, middle lane to avoid the massive ladder that had fallen out the back of the van in front of us.

[@colinvos7304]

Highway: *vibin* People: *See highway, live next to it* Highway: *makes the same amount of noise as before* People: *get annoyed, demand a solution*

[@nlpnt]

I think those villages were there before the autobahn.

[@SoundsLikeOdie]

I like how you compared tunnel vs wall with a ppm meter. It would have been nice to have a third reading next to a unprotected highway. Either way its a interesting fact filled video.

[@9HighFlyer9]

We have one here Phoenix, Arizona. Except ours they dug a trench and put a concrete lid on it. There's a city park on top of the tunnel.

[@seneca983]

That thing would look a lot prettier if they buried it and put a lawn, or some other vegetation, on top of it.

[@tizi2729]

Well it wouldn’t be practical since there are houses and a bike path almost directly at the tunnel on one side, on the other side there is the Aschaff (a small river). At the intersection where the Barriers where shown there is actually a hill, but I don’t know if it is natural or not. Anyway, while it does look ugly on camera and I would of course prefer to have green space instead of a concrete tunnel, it doesn’t look bad in person, I actually never thought about the look, for me (and probably a lot of other locals) it’s just like concrete houses in the city, it’s not pretty, but it isn’t that ugly either.

[@seneca983]

@@tizi2729 I personally find bare concrete to usually be very ugly. Even just painting it makes it look a lot better. Maybe they could consider painting this concrete box too. (Of course, this is just my personal taste; other people may have different preferences.)

[@albussr1589]

That´s what Hamburg is planning on doing

[@MiDaMenSan]

Just remembered a solution to the Autobahn-noise-problem in Berlin I've heard about. The Autobahnüberbauung Schlangenbader Straße may not be nice, but it solves the noise Problem and the residents have still a nice view. In all honesty, thank you very much for the video and all your great content. I really enjoy coming back to your channel and watching the latest videos. Beste Grüße aus der Wetterau

[@thenamen935]

Such "tunnels without a mountain" are regularly built in Switzerland we often call them "Galerie" and we don't have problems with epileptic drivers or as many crashes as the video mentions. They are way better than sound walls because sound walls only protect a few meters from the highways noice and 100m away you can hear it as loud as before, sometimes even louder. We often have these Galerien in cities with higher buildings around the highway or also in mountainous regions to protect the road from nature (e.g. falling rocks or avalanches)

[@General-vi3zh]

My brother in law lives near to it, it's amazing that the A3 is almost not hearable. You can ride a bike nearby and you would not expect a autobahn beside it

[@PixelSchmiede]

I went to school in Hösbach :D Was pretty surprised to see this video on my KZbin front page

[@Hand-in-Shot_Productions]

Quite an interesting place! If I find myself in Hösbach, I think I will be sure to visit!

[@nihongobenkyoshimasu3190]

I think there is a similar TGV "tunnel" in Belgium or north of France (?) with solar panels producing electricity used for running the trains.

[@ConnersCaptures]

Sounds something like I-35 through Duluth Minnesota. Duluth is a large town on the edge of Lake Superior which I-35 ends in. Originally the interstate would be all raised concrete along the lake shore. However due to backlash a design like this approved. Portions of I-35 are tunnels or “boxes” with large green spaces on top. Many parks are up there. It also helps to protect drives from nasty winter storms and freezing waves

[@Nils.Minimalist]

My friend Tessa (a music therapist from Duluth) described the location of Duluth as "where Lake Superior points its finger" ❤

[@NicolaW72]

...and there´s a way to "Wenighösbach" = "not much Hösbach"- 3 km distance... :-)

[@jochkai123]

Ich wohne dort

[@nixcails]

Ahh just like the Saltash Tunnel linking the Tamar Bridge. Built to stop traffic queuing through Saltash, Kernow, UK. Now often has the queue for the Bridge queing in the tunnel and Sat Nav users trying to divert through the town the tunnel was built to bypass.

[@ianoliver3879]

Jolly fine stuff. Thank you very much.

[@CamerHD]

I actually come from Hösbach and have lived one house away from the Autobahn. My father was raised in the same house - but the enclosure didn't exist at the time. It should be noted that there are a lot of houses like ours literally a few metres away from it, so the enclosure is absolutely necessary. Some more interesting facts: There are emergency exits and huge entrance doors for firefighters, ambulances etc. every few hundred metres, as well as small artificial ponds for water. In case of an emergency, all windows can be opened. One last note on its general ugliness: Climbing plants were planted along the entire length, but for the most part they just didn't survive very long, let alone managed to cover up much of the concrete. On parts of it however, there are trees growing between the enclosure and houses. Overall I think it's a neat attraction to have for a otherwise quite boring town :) Edit: And as others have said, brown signs are also used for bridges and tunnles. So no, nobody actually wanted to classify it as a tourist attraction.

[@bennetmay291]

They have built something similar ar the A7 with the "Altonaer-Deckel" in Hamburg

[@javiskii]

Another advantage of fully covering the road is the sound further away... There's an effect that sound deadening walls can have, in which the sound is greatly muffled right next to the wall, but the noise that passes overhead ends up landing further away and increasing the noise there, I guess the tunnel might help with that

[@javiskii]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/m2HRkn9umq-ggqM here's a quick video that explains it

[@dervideoonkel6794]

Das "Besucherzentrum" ist doch ganz klar der Busbahnhof am Aschaffenburger Hbf: Für knapp 10€ kann man sich von hier aus den ganzen Tag lang durch diese "touristische Sehenswürdigkeit" kutschieren lassen, von einer Endhaltestelle der Linie 33 zur anderen immer hin und her :O)

[@NicolaW72]

:-)))

[@CasperGamess]

there is an tunnel in the Netherlands. called: Ketheltunnel. and the Ketheltunnel is also not an tunnel for go under water or something. but it is also between houses. so they made a landtunnel. do reduce the sound of the highway to 0db.

[@necrionos]

there is one thing that a wall cant provide: long distance noise protection. noise are waves and they are able to bend around objects. so directly behind a wall you are protected from direct noise. you can hear only what the wall itself lets through. a thick and high enough wall should provide the same noise protection as a tunnel if you are right next to it. but like 50 or 100 meters away you may experience autobahn noise as loud as if there were no wall. of course at 100m+ distance the noise is naturally diminished and may be below regulations. but a tunnel should remove the noise completely at this distance. and about the rest, well if there is one party ruling for a couple of decades on all levels, decisions tend to be made based on personal favors and not on what makes practical sense. coughtcorruptioncought

[@heysemberthkingdom-brunel5041]

So that would mean Bavaria (the state with one party ruling for the longest uninterrupted time) would be the most corrupt state...

[@holger_p]

@@heysemberthkingdom-brunel5041 Right , populism is not necessarily corruption. They just use the gap between what feels good and what is good. For people who live in fresh air, keeping the air clean raises no positive feelings any more.

[@boombl443]

As a Almost local it’s funny to see. Never would even imagine that I’ll ever watch a video about that enclosure. Passed through at least 150 times

[@namewarvergeben]

I wish they could do that with all highways. I live a kilometer away from one and its still loud as hell. It also cuts right through what would otherwise be a quite beautiful and peaceful bit of nature.

[@petrfedor1851]

They wanna build something kinda similiar in Prague on Spořilovská street. It´s highway connectinc D1 and South Conjunction highway. It´s right in middle of city separating two parts of city, Spořilov and Záběhlice. There is one important difference: It will be constructed as actuall tunel with park, sport areal and maybe even tram line over the road.

[@brickbunny9686]

Well, it may not have a Welcoming Center, but you sure did help it become a Tourist attraction now!

[@tomasruiz06]

Heere in spain every bridge and some tunnels have that brown sign.

[@EmpressSock]

And a decade later, Hamburg, one of the three biggest German cities, copies exactly this, on a much bigger scale, with the A7, a similiarly important Autobahn, going from Denmark, all the way south, to, you guessed it, Austria! Yay! having driven through both, the Hösbach tunnel, and the (construction) of the Hamburg one, i can say they're definitly interesting, and seem to make an amazing job. I'd have liked it a bit more if they tried making it greener above, or at least, you know, hid the side of the walls a bit better. but it's probably difficult for access from those sides... Other interesting projects are the many planned (and partly already constructed) "green bridges" on the A7 between Kassel and Hannover. (dont know the exact section, sorry) and also, the A66 tunnel near Fulda, which was also just constructed slightly underground, as to not obstruct the landscape too much, prevent noise pollution. All very interesting construction projects for sure

[@FreakyNotje]

We have 2 of these in the Netherlands at least that are both longer and more disguised/more pleasant to look at... They built residential areas and parks and sport facilities on top. Search for landtunnel near Utrecht over the A2, or the A4 near Schiedam.. or even a partionally closed one near Leiderdorp on the A4 that even includes an aquaduct.

[@freezombie]

There's another way in which a box may be much better than a wall: it also works if you're further away, outside the "shadow" of the wall: kzbin.info/www/bejne/m2HRkn9umq-ggqM

[@rewboss]

I did consider quoting exactly that video, but honestly if the effect was there, I didn't notice it.

[@TheJosh1337]

One benefit not mentioned but clearly seen in the video is the various bridges (pedestrian and vehicle) over the highway, which you kinda get "for free" with this design.

[@ChristianFredrix]

Interestingly there's a tunnel just across the German border in NL called King Willem-Alexander Tunnel. It's used to be a highway through a city. They've dug it out, placed a double decker highway in it and burried the 'box' underground. Turned the roof into a park. It's 2.3km long. And as far as I know there's no controversy (except maybe the costs, that's always a controversy)... rijkswaterstaat.nl/wegen/wegenoverzicht/a2/koning-willem-alexandertunnel-a2-n2

[@roberth.5938]

You're the half German tom scott EDIT : I just noticed that I wasn't the only one who thought about those similarities

[@Schniebel89]

for that money you could have build 6 km Autobahn south around the small town. maybe even tunnel under the forresty part.

[@blipman17]

A similar construction is being build in The Netherlands to extend the A16 highway, go around Rotterdam The Hague airport and connect up to the A12 highway to releave the A20 from traffic jams. Although it will have dirt shoveled against the side to hide the ugly walls. Also, the reason this box has this crazy signalling and stuff is because european law requires all tunnels to have really strict security systems in case of fires and other accidents. These laws were made after the Kaprun disaster in Austria and cover pretty much everything with a roof. And that's also a reason why highway builders are reluctant to build roofed structures. There's just a lot more regulation for them.

[@angelisbae8543]

In Hamburg, germany is a simmilar tunnel the „Schnelsen Tunnel“

[@ThomasZadro]

Thanks for this. Passing this construction for years, I always thought there was something on the top. Well, the longer one lives… :-)

[@deusexaethera]

Sometimes you just have to try an idea to see how well it works in real life. This one probably won't be repeated, but that's too bad, because damn it's quiet.

[@oceanstaiga5928]

There is a similar box somewhere around cologne, can’t remember which highway exactly but I’ve passed through it and you can look up to the sky with windows while driving through which made me think huh why is this a tunnel in the first place, makes sense if it’s near a city tho

[@falklumo]

It was quite a pain during all the years it was being built. Glad it‘s finished. Normally, real tunnels are dig underground for that purpose. Like A46 which goes underneath Düsseldorf University campus.

[@pjotrtje0NL]

Utrecht has a tunnel without a mountain or a river as well: the A2 running from N to S (or from S to N, depending on your preference and/or direction of driving ;-)).

[@YPOC]

Only a few weeks ago I travelled through there and was wondering what its purpose was. Instead of googling that I found out that Aschaffenburg is named after the Aschaff, and many other tiny towns I've never even heard of! Strange day! :D

[@ohwhye]

Brown signs for tourist info in Australia too! I wonder if other parts use brown for tourist stuff…

[@coreypowers2988]

There may only be a marginal difference in noise right next to the wall/enclosure. But traditional sound barriers/walls can often make sound WORSE farther away from the barrier. The enclosure is likely to solve that since noise can only escape at the ends not the top

[@1marcelfilms]

Now add a wind tunnel with big fans that push the cars forward save on fuel

[@MegaJK97]

These brown signs often are put at bridges to inform about the name and the length of the bridge, Sometimes they're even put at tunnels for the same reasons.

[@rewboss]

They're not normally brown, though.

[@MegaJK97]

@@rewboss In Northern Germany I usually see those particular signs in brown^^

[@JDoors]

REWBOSS! This video was recommended because I watch urban planning and the like videos and I recognized your avatar immediately! Got unceremoniously dumped from the forum - sock puppet accounts reworded my answers, posted theirs, and mine were flagged as "Off Topic," eventually getting me banned entirely. Hate that they took a coward's way out but ... it's KZbin!

[@DaWalkDude]

Between cars with no mufflers, engine braking trucks, and delivery motorcycles, even the simpler wall here would be a dream come true The German folk sure visited Mexico when they all thought of this!!

[@_qwe_fk_1700]

for 90 mio you could also have relocated the people living closest to the highway and then use a normal wall or better + trees behind it to block sound. 4:18 this isn't that anusual for longer tunnel section, better to have them not used than not have them but need them. My guess is that they are used if the need to do maintance?

[@freshegon]

6:17 im guessing how rewboss discovered how easy it is to make the trip back to the first town ;)

[@Funica11]

In Germany speed is restricted to 120 due to residence area, in Japan speed limit is eased from 100 to 120 because of a better highway. I wonder why our highways are so bad.

[@Conservator.]

In the Netherlands next to the A13 near Delft there are very long office buildings next to the motorway to shield the residential area behind from the noise. That’s cleaver planning imo.

[@MrMinolta]

Mein täglicher Arbeitsweg, zur der ich eine Hassliebe verbinde ;). Grüße aus dem Kahlgrund.

[@TheLemonBird]

Most of these through city highways should be under ground. The good old fashioned dig and bury. This reduces noise and removes these great wall of china -esque highways!