Hakeborn. The Salzlandkreis district is set to invest a further 1.7 million euros – in this case in ‘sustainable multimodal mobility’ – in its transport infrastructure. It has until the end of 2027 to upgrade the bumpy and now largely unused district road 1301 – which will in future be designated as a dedicated cycle route – from Hakeborn to the B180 in the Egelner Mulde. It requires 173,000 euros of its own funds for this. The majority – 90 per cent of the eligible expenditure – will be covered by the State of Saxony-Anhalt and the European Union via the ERDF/JTF programme, two European funds for regional development and for a just transition within the EU respectively. The maximum funding amount for the district project has now been set at just under 1.56 million euros.
District Administrator Markus Bauer has the funding decision from the state administration office with him when he publicly delivers the good news to his local cooperation partners in Hakeborn today, Wednesday. "It goes on. We can be happy. With this cycle route - one of the first ever in the region - the Salzland district is making an active contribution to improving regional transport routes. Together, we are sending out a clear signal, utilising our opportunities and acting in a coordinated manner in a municipal partnership. In this way, we are supporting climate-friendly cycling in rural areas, in our residential and business location, and we are doing so according to our own future-proof strategy," says the district administrator. He is convinced: "We are also providing new impetus from an economic perspective."
Egeln's mayor Reinhard Luckner says that it was the great goal and desire to convert the connection into a cycle route. This will create a great connection to the beautiful Hakel, especially for families. The mayor thanked the Salzland district for its commitment, as did the mayor of the municipality, Michael Stöhr. "Thanks to e-bikes, even longer distances are no longer a problem. So it makes sense to invest in infrastructure specifically for cyclists."
District road 1301 connects the villages of Egeln and Hakeborn in the Egelner Mulde. The municipalities of Börde-Hakel and Egeln and their association of municipalities play a key role in the project, as the relevant section of the district road in the area will also be low-maintenance and rededicated as a municipal road following its major expansion with a change in use. The town of Egeln and the municipality of Börde-Hakel are responsible for maintenance. The mayors and councillors support the project and signed the cooperation agreements with the Salzland district in Bernburg in July.
Now the next milestone, the funding commitment: exactly 1,557,450 euros have been pledged in three annual instalments for the project period up to and including 2027. 60 per cent of the eligible expenditure is being provided by the EU and 30 per cent by the state of Saxony-Anhalt. The Salzland district is providing the necessary own funds for the estimated 1.7 million euro investment to date.
The planned, ground-up expansion section from Hakeborn to federal road 180 covers 3.4 kilometres and a road width of 3.5 metres. "This will enable cyclists to use the road safely and significantly improve its quality. We also want to open up the new cycle route to agricultural vehicles, but only on a subordinate basis so that they can access the neighbouring areas via separate field access roads," explains Tilo Wechselberger, Head of Specialist Services at Salzlandkreis, who is responsible for district and economic development and tourism as well as for the district's own road, cycle path and infrastructure construction projects.
Tilo Wechselberger also presents another important interim result for the realisation of the measure: the completed tender for the construction planning and the company Koslowski Bauingenieure PartG mbB Staßfurt that has just been commissioned. Neither of these were known to the mayors until this moment, but the planning office from the local region and its boss, who also came to Hakeborn, certainly are. The Staßfurt planning office can now get started with the detailed construction planning as a contractor for the district. The goal is clear: construction should start in summer 2027 to turn a dilapidated and barely used district road in the Salzland district into a modern cycle route for the Egelner Mulde.