Who these days along the Rhine walking, it can, as every year watch at this time: almost every hour we see the water rising and tearing are, you can the river almost watch the swell, a light brown tide over simmering and is poised to to reach the water fronts, with a vast amount of plastic waste is a leader: Snow melt, rain ...
"We currently have a groundwater level of 37.9 meters. At 39.5 meters flood we want. "(GA Bonn v. 26.02.2010). This refers to the subway construction site in Cologne's old town. Tomorrow, on Saturday, it will then be ready with a water level of 6.50 meters.
Metro Do not care: Boring, because there is not much complicated, because you have everything first laboriously down and then drag upward, shopping bags, if not, then at least to himself, and it is dangerous, especially late in the evening and at night eerie. If in doubt, despite surveillance cameras no one comes to the rescue.
Cologne lies on the Rhine, especially the old town, where at least some of the old, beautiful building, the second World War have survived and provide the evidence and eye relief. The old town stands on a year over a thousand archeologically significant ground, but it is the underground river, gravel, sand and groundwater.
The Cologne North-South route of the Underground: parallel to the Rhine; Source: Wikimedia Commons
Underground tunnels are millions or billions prestige companies in the spirit of the 1960s, when one, called pride in the car, driving for free citizens and free the trams had kindly to disappear from the scene.
Subways are no longer appropriate, they can not adapt to current market needs, and there were and are always spectacular and serious in their construction. Subways cost on average 10 times more than normal, above-ground tram.
Presumably, they enjoy very reason for the responsible politicians and appointed contractors such enduring popularity.
The dice for the North-South route disasters fell in Cologne in 1996 by an "independent" study by Schuessler plan, which was followed by the Cologne city council and the company later commissioned with the construction management. The company was a specialist in tunnel construction and other solutions as deemed not beneficial.
The initial cost of 500 million € have now arrived at 1.3 billion, but this is only an intermediate stage, considering the date.
The north-south parallel to the Rhine piece no one really took so really, it only one time promised profits of a few minutes there were already other light rail and buses. Five to six minutes for 1.3 billion euros. Or even 3.6 km for 1.3 billion.
Construction began in 2004 and in the autumn of that year, the tower leaned to the millennial Church of St. John the Baptist in the Severin-quarters (built 948) and threatened to collapse. The emergency measures to stabilize its cost € 1 million.
The venerable church is located only 150 meters from the archives of the city, which, by now everyone knows how the memory of Cologne and the Rhineland, where cracks showed in 2008, but no one really interested.
On 03/03/2009 then heard a dull rumble the people, ran outside and the house of the Historic City Archive and two other houses collapsed within seconds. The road was destroyed over a length of 70 meters.
"I saw the cracks in the house climbed ever higher," said an eyewitness to the television station n-tv, "the facade began to crumble and then everything fell slowly to the ground. Like in a movie. "
Fall into a meter-deep hole with the houses, and two people
• 65,000 documents from the year 922,
• 26 kilometers of shelving files
• 104 000 maps and plans, and 50,000 posters and
• 818 estates and collections.
The construction consortium Bilfinger Berger is composed of three companies: the Wayss & Freitag Ltd, Royal BAM Group and Züblin. With the subway construction but also various sub-contractors have been instructed to reduce a common way to reduce costs, increase return on investment. The ultimate direction of the overall construction plan, the company received Schuessler, the same company that had created the ultimate 1996 also independent appraisals.
Should "... up to 83 percent of the planned steel bars in the stabilizing diaphragm walls are missing ... failure of the entire system of supervision ..." (GA Bonn v. 02.18.2010) ... working the iron bar are sold to scrap dealers ... even incorrect measurement protocols for 28 so-called diaphragm walls in the pits discovered ... "(GA Bonn v. 16.2.2010) ..." that people in this building with a criminal energy were at work, as it is Kahler [City Manager] in his wildest dreams could not have imagined ... After all he can on the day give to the Rose Monday Parade all-clear, and the predictions that the stability would be guaranteed everywhere, have been met "(GA Bonn 17.02.2010) The Rose Monday Parade in Cologne collapsed - and not - in the pit." Mal important metal anchors are missing in the slit walls. Then the construction workers poured concrete into the too little protection structures and the corresponding protocols - which confirmed one person familiar with the operations of the GA - were apparently falsified "(see above).
President of the Government's supervision at the start of construction to the City of Cologne, this gives them to her daughter, the Cologne Transport Authority (KVB), these do exist - privately before the state - to plan Schuessler, a subcontractor of Bilfinger Berger.
In 2000, "streamlined" the city of Cologne, its administration. The Civil Engineering Department is practically dissolved, for the Department of Urban drainage, bridges and railroad town went through the supervision of the city to the KVB. , outgesurced . Responsibility is sourced neoliberal eye, uotgesorced, outgesurced.
"Bela Dören. That was until a few years in the cathedral city councilor, who is responsible for civil engineering. His office had more than 100 people, then his job was canceled. , Had the city's official unresolved, we had a day with several local people have been. And when asked whether that would be working with a civil engineering office also happens, he adds, 'Absolutely not'.
Then he tells that the engineer from Munich comes so rarely and only locally, either because he had been unduly depressed in price. '"(See above)
Erode the ground, water leaks, cracks, crumbling facades - we are still able to perceive warning signs?
Not if we continue to think that something like only other concern him. "The complete restoration of the archives is an estimate for the city of Cologne cost 300 to 500 million euros." (GA Bonn, 26.2.20109).
If Cologne soon be no cash advance more is obtained, and no separate budget must set up more and forfeit the city before our eyes, more and more potholes remain unpaved in the streets, schools, theaters close, swimming pools, it is dawn, perhaps some that even the all the time "we" were, had to pay for such projects.
In 1996, more citizens would have thought not interested in their community and that "there" already know and do everything right, it would not come so far, not only in Cologne. We should realize quickly that "those at the top, or wherever" do not know anyone and make it right, but themselves because they lack a long time on something important: the fact that they love their city. Otherwise they would not do it like that.
Tags: Cologne U-Bahn , the Rhine-Hochwasseer , Severin district , city archives , tunnel flooding
Blame the citizens of Cologne, now the blame for this disaster seems to me more than primitive. How should the citizens of the criminal doings of workers, site supervision .... ... Politicians. areas in such a large-scale style stop? If the Cologne monitored around the clock all the criminals in and around the construction site? And how? Why is it not collapse after the archive has become noisy, that sloppy and hard to build here is cheating? Why does it bother anyone if the KVB assigns the supervision of a subcontractor of Bilfinger? Where is the responsibility of duty policy cologne? But that's typical! The little people for the authorities "transparent" and make the Great - close both eyes - if they proceed, no matter how sloppy and criminal.
Street cars are in big cities - especially on further lines - certainly not a suitable means of transport. Space and in all these cities already congested streets, where's the sense?
to 1956: Behind all of your sentences, it can certainly make a green check mark, except the first: I have never spoken of "guilt". I feel more of a widespread attitude of passivity, which historically has indeed found in Germany due to a specific expression. Did you perhaps after the collapse of the archive somewhere heard of a demo, let's say 20 people? I need nicht.Es namely not huge crowds. Only say 50 Cologne, who would have said 1996, "wool mer need nit, nit mer, fott it!" Of course Germany is underdeveloped in direct democracy and direct citizen involvement. That is, for example in Switzerland, much better: As a village can be a project for a new Feuwehrhaus do with cost calculation. This then goes to a vote and if you find it's too expensive, then get rid of it.
Of course there 's some examples where a subway was useful or would be. Certainly not at the Cologne north / south route. I'm saying: We can not avoid it, to increase our communal commitment and indeed very fast. The alternative: bankruptcy of the cities. I say only one word: WCCB Bonn. Bonn is broke, even if it's obscured by computing tricks yet.
A little anecdote about this: I'm sitting in the Christ Church, where OB Roters answers the questions applied citizens of Cologne. Church was full. The conversation turns to the verscherbelte iron girders. My neighbor said to me Bank:
"I bet that these iron beams were not at first be delivered."
Where the company even more confidence when Cologne to believe the false excuses of this administration?