The A4 will be completely closed during the night from Saturday to Sunday
Due to a large-scale emergency services exercise, the A4 will be completely closed in both directions in the vicinity of the Lobdeburg Tunnel on Saturday, 7 November 2026, from 8.00 pm. The closure is expected to last until 8 am on Sunday, 8 November. Road users are asked to take these restrictions into account when planning their journeys and to follow the signposted diversions.
The Jena Fire Brigade is organising the joint operational training exercise with Autobahn GmbH, the federal motorway operator responsible for the tunnel, as well as other participating authorities and organisations with safety responsibilities. Taking part are the Jena Professional Fire Brigade and volunteer fire brigades from Jena and the Saale-Holzland district. Also taking part are units from the ambulance service and civil protection from Jena, as well as from the Saale-Holzland and Saalfeld-Rudolstadt districts.
Training for cooperation in an emergency
The scenario begins with a vehicle catching fire inside the tunnel. Numerous people are injured or otherwise affected as a result. The aim is to practise procedures in the event of a major incident in the tunnel and to test the cooperation between the organisations involved under realistic conditions.
The exercise will begin at around 9.30 pm and is expected to end at around midnight.
Preparing for the tunnel refurbishment
The joint full-scale exercise also serves as preparation for the comprehensive refurbishment of the Lobdeburg Tunnel, planned for 2028/2029. The construction work will also bring about changes to the traffic and operational conditions. This will enable the organisations involved to prepare for the changed conditions and strengthen their cooperation across district and organisational boundaries.
Full closure and diversions on the A4
During the night of Saturday 7 November to Sunday 8 November 2026, the Lobdeburg Tunnel will be completely closed in both directions from 8.00 pm to 8.00 am.
Traffic on the A4 heading towards Frankfurt am Main will be diverted off the motorway at the Jena-Zentrum junction. The signposted U12 temporary diversion leads to the Jena-Göschwitz junction, where road users can rejoin the A4.
For traffic heading towards Dresden, the diversion takes place at the Jena-Göschwitz junction. From there, the U37 temporary diversion leads to the Jena-Zentrum junction, where drivers can continue on the A4.
Wide-area diversion recommendations
To enable road users to bypass the closure as early as possible and over as wide an area as possible, signs indicating the restrictions are already in place at the inter-regional motorway junctions.
At the Erfurter Kreuz, signs are in place both on the A4 heading towards Dresden and on the A71 heading towards Sangerhausen.
The following recommendations apply to individual destinations:
- Towards Dresden and Gera: Road users are directed onto the signposted U81 temporary diversion from the Apolda junction.
- Towards Berlin and Leipzig: The wide-area diversion first takes the A71 and then the A38.
- Towards Erfurt and Frankfurt am Main: Road users are directed onto the A38 towards Göttingen.
- They should then follow the signs for their respective destinations.
In addition, signs at the Rippachtal junction will indicate the tunnel closure on both the A38 towards Göttingen and the A9 towards Munich.