Die Erhaltung von Bauwerken der Bundesfernstraßen in Deutschland / Maintenance of structures belonging to the national road network in Germany

First it is shown that maintenance of structures belonging to the national road network in Germany is neglected in an alarming way. It is obivous that the state of the road surface, of bridges and other structures is deteriorating in the old Länder in particular. In spite of that, politicians have not yet recognized the importance of this fact for the economy of an industrialized country. There exists a lack of medium range financial planing and provision of means. The elaboration of a management system for existing structures has only been started in 1997.