If you've ever been to the south side of the Rhine River.....just west of Mainz....you'd find Bingen.
I'd describe the town as a tourist magnet, with a fair number of drinking establishments and cafes.
For probably thirty years....locals have talked of improving the crossing of the river.
Heading west/north from Bingen....other than using the local ferry (about every 20 to 30 minutes, it makes a run)....to reach the opposite side (into Hessen, or the village of Rudesheim). Heading east toward Mainz? With a 25 minute drive, you can reach a bridge and just cross over there.
Locals want a bridge. Not a big bridge....but the talk of the past four years has been mostly about a narrow walking/bicycle type bridge.
This being about 600 meters (2,000 ft) across? Yeah.
Well....lot of folks felt some kind simple bridge could be built.....high enough....to allow all ships to pass without any hassle.
Chief problem? In almost every single effort....environmentalists have stepped up to hinder the project. In fact, you can go into Mainz or Wiesbaden to argue for a 4th bridge over the river, and they have the same problem there.
It is remarkable. Germany has literally hundreds of qualified bridge designers, and finding funding usually isn't a problem. But as you suggest a bridge....there's probably a thousand local environmentalists prepared to step forward and argue this through the court system.
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