B51 Mauritz trough, 3rd construction phase

As a heavily used motorway, the B51 is of considerable supra-regional importance for the greater Münster area. It is also part of the supra-regional B51/B64 Münster – Warendorf – Rheda-Wiedenbrück traffic axis.

The stretch of the B51 in the Münster bypass section has existed since the 1960s. Traffic congestion was already inevitable in 1965. The first two sections were upgraded between 1990 and 2001. Since 2015, work has been underway on the current third section and the extension northwards as the B481.

The expansion of the B51 became necessary because the federal highway, which currently has two lanes, was no longer sufficient to meet requirements and was causing considerable inconvenience to local residents and road users due to noise and traffic displacement in the adjacent residential areas.

Around 210 million euros are being invested in the federal budget for the bypass. Over the total distance of 6.2 kilometers, 17 new bridges, over 5.6 kilometers of noise barriers and three trough structures will be built.
The work has progressed so far that the next milestones are also firmly planned: In 2026, work on the 900-metre-long trough structure in the expansion section of the B51 should be so far advanced that this construction section will be available for traffic.

The four-lane expansion of the B51 over a length of 2.6 kilometers and the new construction of the B481 over a length of a good 4.6 kilometers as well as the connection to the L587 (Schifffahrter Damm) will create a continuous south-east bypass for the city of Münster. In future, the bypass will provide an efficient link from the MS Süd junction to the A1 Greven junction, which will also be able to cope with future traffic loads and relieve the burden on residential areas and the urban road network.

The project is aiming for DGNB "Sustainable Construction Site" certification from the German Sustainable Building Council.

Certified by the German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB)

Ed. Züblin AG is pursuing several goals with this project: A sustainable construction site organisation, the conservation of resources as well as the minimisation of emissions, responsibility for the health and well-being of the builders, the cultivation of good neighbourliness and, of course, high-quality construction. For this, Ed. Züblin AG was the first company to be recognised by the German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB).

Here you can find more information about the DGNB system for sustainable construction sites: https://www.dgnb.de/en/certification/buildings/construction-site

Selected measures in the project