31 ideas for Westschnellweg
On 8 July 2025, a Citizens' Jury submitted its recommendations for the redevelopment of the Westschnellweg in Hanover to the Lower Saxony State Authority for Road Construction and Transport (NLStBV) and the Lower Saxony Ministry of Transport.
The results comprise seven overarching principles and 31 recommendations. The focus is on proposals for strengthening sustainable mobility, protecting and developing the climate, the environment and urban neighbourhoods, and designing a future-proof infrastructure.
What is the Westschnellweg?
The Westschnellweg, built in 1950, is a four-lane expressway in Hanover and part of the Bundesstraße 6 federal highway. Together with the Südschnellweg, the Messeschnellweg and other expressways, it is part of the concept developed by the former city planner Rudolf Hillebrecht to divert long-distance traffic around the city centre.
Plans for the Bundesstraße 6 at the level of the Hanover districts of Stöcken, Herrenhausen, Linden and Limmer up to the Landwehrkreisel are still in their infancy. However, according to the state transport ministry, 14 bridges in need of major renovation will require construction work in seven to eight years. The Westschnellweg is to be modernised as part of this project.
Type of reconstruction unclear
During the modernisation, planners will have to reconcile climate protection, transport reform and safety. It is not yet clear how the entrances and exits will be rebuilt and whether a tunnel could replace bridges and a section of the road. To improve safety, widening the road and adding an additional hard shoulder are also being considered.
There were fierce protests against the extension of the Südschnellweg, even though there was a public consultation at the time. Lessons have been learned from this, according to Christian Budde, spokesperson for the State Ministry of Transport. The ministry wants to make the process even more open this time, informing citizens and involving them in the process.
Role as transport axis recognised
In its final report, the mini-public makes it clear that it recognises the central role of the transport axis in the west of Hanover. The participants would like to see a Westschnellweg that ‘has a bundling function for through traffic and delivery traffic and is adaptable to future social requirements’. They have drawn up seven key principles for the redevelopment, which are to be taken into account in the planning.
- The modernisation of the Westschnellweg should not ‘adversely affect climate targets, adaptation to climate change, or environmental protection and nature conservation’.
- No additional space should be used for motorised traffic. If possible, the amount of sealed ground should even be reduced.
- Car traffic should be reduced and the public transport, cycling and walking networks expanded.
- Traffic flow and safety should be improved for all road users, including through intelligent speed control.
- The federal government, state government, region and city of Hanover should jointly develop an overarching transport strategy.
- The planning and implementation of the construction project should aim to minimise the impact on the neighbouring urban districts.
- The CO2 emissions caused by the reconstruction and traffic should be offset as close as possible. Noise and pollutant emissions should be reduced.
Recommending no hard shoulders
Among other things, the Citizens' Jury recommends not installing hard shoulders on the Westschnellweg. ‘The area currently in use must not be enlarged and the lanes must not be widened,’ the mini-public told the planners.
Entrances and exits should be built to be safe but also space-saving in order to preserve vegetation. The Citizens' Jury even recommends examining the dismantling of the particularly expansive Herrenhausen entrance in order to be able to unseal areas.
The planners are to review the accident blackspots at Bremer Damm and Deisterkreisel. For the junction with Bremer Damm, for example, the jury members propose replacing the traffic light intersection with a bridge-like structure that crosses the Westschnellweg.
Tunnel construction to be examined
The construction of a Westschnellweg tunnel is to be examined in sections. The Citizens' Jury sees an advantage in this in that an enlarged and greened cover on Lindener Berg would improve its effect as a cold air corridor and its function as a local recreation area.
The results of the work were presented at the Ministry of Transport in Hanover in the presence of Transport Minister Grant Hendrik Tonne, Regional President Steffen Krach, Hanover's Lord Mayor Belit Onay and NLStBV President Timo Quander.
‘An open process is valuable’
‘The members of the Citizens' Jury have contributed their real-life experiences, knowledge and concerns directly and enthusiastically to the project. This will improve the planning and the entire project. I would like to thank the members for this. In doing so, they have also demonstrated how valuable a transparent, open process is – especially for large infrastructure projects,’ said Lower Saxony's Transport Minister Grant Hendrik Tonne.
The handover of the recommendations does not mark the end of the Citizens' Jury's work. It will continue to support the project as necessary and assist the dialogue forum with its expertise. ‘This will ensure that the dialogue continues and that the participation process remains ongoing,’ said Tonne.
‘Recommendations to be taken into account where possible’
‘The results of the Citizens Jury's work have the status of overarching recommendations. They form the framework for further planning,’ explained Andreas Moseke, spokesperson for the state road construction authority. The authority will ‘carefully examine the recommendations and take them into account wherever possible.’ The authority intends to issue reasoned statements on the feasibility of the demands and proposals.
The mini-public discussed the modernisation of the Westschnellweg from January to March 2025. The participants addressed the topics of climate protection and climate change, transport and mobility, urban life and green spaces, and nature and the environment. Several independent experts were on hand to provide information and answer questions during the open-ended discussion.
2,000 people randomly selected
In November 2024, the Lower Saxony State Authority for Road Construction and Transport (NLStBV) invited people in and around Hanover to participate in the Citizens' Jury on the modernisation of the Westschnellweg. Two thousand people were randomly selected from the districts of Linden, Limmer and Herrenhausen, the wider city area and the Hanover region and received an invitation in their letterboxes. Ninety-five of those invited expressed an interest in participating in the mini-public.
The Citizens' Jury consisted of 35 residents of the Hanover region who were randomly selected. The task of the mini-public was to discuss and formulate framework conditions for the Westschnellweg planning based on the life experience and expertise of its members. The committee was composed accordingly. The Citizens' Jury was intended to reflect society in Hanover. Therefore, people were represented according to the criteria of age, gender, education, place of residence and migration background in proportion to their share of the population.
Citizens' Jury part of public participation
The Citizens' Jury is part of the public participation process being carried out by the state authority for the Westschnellweg planning. The participation began with a kick-off event in October 2023 and a subsequent online survey. This resulted in a dialogue concept that was presented in May 2024.
Another important component of the participation process is a dialogue forum. It involves residents and a wide range of interest groups in the planning process over several years. The dialogue forum was launched in February 2025.
What happened next?
After the Citizens' Jury recommendations were submitted, the Lower Saxony State Authority for Road Construction and Transport initiated preliminary planning for the Westschnellweg. It is currently working with its planning offices to draw up various options.
The NLStBV regularly discusses the Citizens' Jury's recommendations in extensive planning meetings with the planning offices. At the same time, the dialogue forum continues. The committee has already discussed its own options and ideas and deliberated on the mini-public's recommendations. The comments made by the dialogue forum on the results of the Citizens' Jury are also being incorporated into the planning meetings.
Brochure created
Since the handover, the NLStBV has also created a brochure about the mini-public, which describes the process from conception to formation, procedure, members, results and evaluation.
One of the recommendations of the Citizens' Assembly was to initiate a steering committee comprising representatives from the federal government, the state, the region and the city of Hanover. This process has been initiated on the basis of a concept paper that has been drawn up, and the steering committee is currently being prepared.