New construction trough Mariendorf, Münster

The stretch of the B 51 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 construction section and the extension northwards as the B 481.
The expansion of the B 51 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 four-lane expansion of the B 51 over a length of 2.6 kilometers and the new construction of the B 481 over a length of a good 4.6 kilometers as well as the connection to the L 587 (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 city's road network.

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 extension section of the B 51 should be sufficiently advanced for this construction section to be available to traffic.
A 650-metre-long trough structure is being built in the northern section of the Münster bypass (B 481), which is still missing. In future, this will allow road traffic to pass under the Münster-Bremen railroad bridge and the already completed bridge in Mariendorf without crossing. Work on this important section of the construction project started in spring 2025, meaning that the entire construction project to expand the B 51 and rebuild the B 481 will be completed in 2028.

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 organization, the conservation of resources as well as the minimization 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 recognized 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