Great news after 3 years of suffering (especially if you are an inhabitant of Lüdenscheid )
The bridge (Rahmedetal Bridge aka Rahmedetalbrücke) has been opened in reality a few weeks ago and we now reflect this in our first APIs too - please check the list of the products below to see whether you will already benefit from this automatically.
If you need the data for an on premise update let us know!
Screenshots provided through test applications. Left: PTV xServer Internet 2 (update not applied yet, 8.1.2026) Right5: PTV Developer: update applied and layers will be enabled under the hood ;-)
URGENT UPDATE: A45 Rahmede Bridge Opening December 22nd - Product Rollout Plan Background
The Rahmede bridge (Talbrücke Rahmede) on the A45 has been closed since 2021, forcing traffic to make local detours of up to 50 km, adding a minimum of 30 minutes to journey times. The impact on route planning has been so severe that traffic is being redirected to completely different corridors as far as 200 km away near Frankfurt.
Originally scheduled to reopen in mid-2026, the German Federal Ministry of Transport announced last week that the bridge will open on December 22nd, 2025 – over half a year earlier than expected.
You can view the exact location of the blocking here
Technical Challenge
The closure is not coded as a traffic incident in our systems but as a hardcoded blocking in the HERE network data. In TomTom Data the bridge is just not existing. This means we cannot simply flip a switch to open the bridge – it requires significant technical intervention across all our product lines.
Rollout Timeline (context 09.01.2026)
Given these constraints, we have established the following rollout schedule:
Navigator G1: Next map version Next map version, 2026.1T
No solution so far for all TomTom maps as the bridge is not existing --> next TomTom map update Q1/2026
What This Means for Our Customers
Some customers will benefit from the bridge opening immediately or within a few days.
Others will experience a brief period where their routing software does not yet reflect the reopened bridge
Clients with TomTom maps, xServer1 and Navigator G1 customers will need to wait until Q1/2026 for the standard map update
For Support:
Expect inquiries about route deviations in this area. Please refer to this rollout schedule and emphasize that we are working as quickly as safely possible.
Best regards, Team Product
Bernd Welter Technical Partner Manager Developer Components
PTV Logistics - Germany
Bernd at... The Forum,LinkedIn, Youtube, StackOverflow
I like the smell of PTV Developer in the morning...
)
No solution so far for all TomTom maps as the bridge is not existing --> next TomTom map update Q1/2026
