Luxembourg’s Ministry of Mobility and Public Works has announced that the “Schengen” access ramp of the A13 motorway, in the direction of Bettembourg, remains closed to freight vehicles exceeding 3.5 tonnes in permissible total weight due to safety concerns.
According to the Ministry, trucks exceeding 3.5 tonnes are unable to reach the necessary speed on the uphill section of the access ramp to safely merge into the traffic flow on the A13 before the Markusberg tunnel.
The Ministry noted that a turning route via the Perl junction on the A8 motorway in Germany is signposted; however, this diversion has not been officially accepted for traffic regulation purposes. As a result, heavy goods vehicles are using alternative routes through surrounding villages, leading to traffic safety concerns and a reduction in residents' quality of life.
The Ministry also pointed out that a general weight limit of 40 tonnes applies on all public roads in Germany, while Luxembourg allows freight vehicles with a permissible total weight of up to 44 tonnes.
A turning route via the Perl junction on the A8 motorway in Germany is signposted; however, this diversion, as noted by the Ministry, has not been officially accepted for traffic regulation purposes. As a result, heavy goods vehicles are using alternative routes through surrounding villages, leading to traffic safety concerns and a reduction in residents' quality of life.
A general weight limit of 40 tonnes applies on all public roads in Germany, while Luxembourg permits freight vehicles with a permissible total weight of up to 44 tonnes.
Following a constructive meeting in Luxembourg on 31 March 2025 between Luxembourg’s Minister for Mobility and Public Works, Yuriko Backes, and Saarland’s Minister for the Environment, Climate, Mobility, Agriculture and Consumer Protection, Petra Berg, both sides sought solutions to allow turning manoeuvres for freight traffic up to 44 tonnes.
The ministers also announced that, as of 8 July 2025 and provisionally until 31 May 2028, turning manoeuvres for trucks weighing up to 44 tonnes are permitted on German territory via the Perl junction on the A8 motorway. The existing overtaking and minimum distance restrictions for heavy goods vehicles on the German-Luxembourg Moselle bridge must continue to be observed, as stated by Luxembourg’s Ministry of Mobility and Public Works.
