Fundamental expansion of Naumburger Straße

The construction project is one of the largest infrastructure measures in Jena in recent years. In addition to the thorough renovation of the road, pavements and cycle paths are being renewed, new drinking water and wastewater systems are being laid, electricity and gas lines are being converted, new IT routes are being created and district heating lines are being built. The streetcar will also be extended as part of the project. The aim is to make the entire infrastructure in Jena-Nord - i.e. heating, electricity, drinking water and wastewater as well as digital networks - fit for the future in the long term, to increase road safety for pedestrians and cyclists and to accommodate the further growth of the district.

Overview of the measures

Road surface:

• Renewal of the road surface

Footpaths and cycle paths

• Improvement and new construction of footpaths and cycle paths

Tramway:

• Extension of the tracks
• Reconstruction of the stops

Drinking water:

• Relocation and renewal of water pipes

Sewage:

• Renewal and new construction of sewage systems

Information technology:

• Relocation and new construction of IT routes

Gas:

• Relocation of gas pipelines

District heating:

• New construction of district heating lines

Electrical engineering:

• Renewal and new construction of power cables

The construction site covers the area of Naumburger Straße between the junction with Flurweg and the northern junction with Carl-Orff-Straße.

The area between the junction of Camburger Straße and Flurweg was already completely renovated between 2018 and 2020 and the streetcar line was extended to two tracks.

The following overview site plan is also available as a PDF with zoom function.

In diesem Bereich wird die Naumburger Straße grundhaft saniert.

© Stadt Jena

Videos zum grundhaften Ausbau der Naumburger Straße finden Sie auf YouTube.

The extensive construction project will begin - subject to suitable weather conditions - on March 2, 2026 and is expected to last until June 2029. The work will be carried out in several construction phases:

1st construction phase

Jena town exit - Carl-Orff-Straße south junction
Construction period: March 2026 to June 2027

Naumburger Straße: Übersichtsplan Bauabschnitt 1

© Stadt Jena

2nd construction phase

Carl-Orff-Straße south junction to Juri-Gagarin-Straße
Construction period: June 2027 to December 2027

3rd construction phase

Juri-Gagarin-Straße to the junction with Netto-Markt / Zwätzen turning loop
Construction period: December 2027 to June 2028

4th construction phase

Junction Netto-Markt / turning loop Zwätzen to junction Brückenstraße
Construction period: June 2028 to September 2028

5th construction phase

Junction Brückenstraße to Flurweg
Construction period: September 2028 to May 2029

Preparatory measures to clear the construction site have been underway since the end of January.

In diesem Bereich wird die Naumburger Straße grundhaft saniert.

© Stadt Jena

In the period from 02.03. to 30.11.2026 there will be a full closure between the southern Carl-Orff-Straße and the end of Jena. There will be a large-scale detour in both directions from Camburg / Rodameuschel via the L1070 to Trotz, from Trotz on the B7 via Bürgel to Jena. The Carl-Orff-Straße Süd junction is passable throughout.

Current closures, detour and information about the roadworks can also be found in the City of Jena's roadworks report.

"We are aware that the construction work means a stressful time for commuters and residents. That's why we looked intensively for ways to keep the duration of the closure as short as possible. We are therefore pleased that we have succeeded in reducing the originally planned full closure period from 18 to 9 months - even though we are aware that this period will still be associated with considerable restrictions. My special thanks go to the constructive discussions with the affected districts and communities - together we were able to find a viable solution," emphasizes department head Dirk Lange.

Die Umleitung erfolgt großräumig.

© KSJ

The accessibility of the adjacent properties is guaranteed as far as possible. However, restrictions cannot be completely ruled out - especially in the Brückenstraße - Maria-Pawlowna section. Increased traffic volumes are to be expected in the rest of the area due to the detour.

Initially, streetcar traffic will not be affected by the construction work. Work will begin in the north and therefore in the sections where the new streetcar line is being built.

However, the full closure of Naumburger Straße will lead to restrictions on regional bus services operated by JES Verkehrsgesellschaft.

As a result, journeys on routes 420 and 426 from Porstendorf will be diverted in both directions via Golmsdorf and Kunitz to Jena. Selected journeys on route 420 will be routed via Himmelreich and will also serve the Zwätzen, Schleife stop. Line 422 will run via Rödigen during the construction period.

The specific construction timetables will be published in good time on the published in good time on the Jena public transport website.

The total cost of the project is around 53.8 million euros (gross). A large proportion of the costs can be covered by federal and state subsidies. The funding for infrastructure measures amounts to a maximum of 75 percent for the city and local transport.

The presentation, which was shown at the information events in February 2026, can be viewed online as a PDF.

Eine durchgehende Baustraße parallel zur B88 – vom Ortseingang bis zur südlichen Carl-Orff-Straße – kann leider nicht umgesetzt werden.

Der Grund: Eine solche Straße würde stark in Natur und Landschaft eingreifen. Betroffen wären unter anderem die Gärten am Ortseingang, das geschützte Gebiet „Im Oelste“ sowie die Ausgleichsflächen im Himmelreich. Dort würden Lebensräume von Tieren und Pflanzen beeinträchtigt oder zerstört. Auch der Boden würde durch Verdichtung und Versiegelung dauerhaft geschädigt.

Hinzu kommt, dass die benötigte Breite für eine zusätzliche Straße an vielen Stellen gar nicht vorhanden ist.

Aus diesen Gründen ist das Vorhaben weder realisierbar noch genehmigungsfähig.

There are very few single-track sections left in Jena's streetcar network. These are very challenging in operational terms because the streetcars have to wait for each other in the event of delays at the start and end of such sections. In unfavorable cases, delays in one part of the network affect traffic in other parts of the city.

Streetcars currently run on a single track between the Flurweg stop and the Zwätzen turning loop. If the route to Himmelreich were also "only" single-track, this would result in a single-track section almost two kilometers long. This would have a considerable negative impact on the transport services in the northern network, which is characterized by strong passenger growth. Jena's local transport authority cannot support such a solution.

In addition, single-track line sections would not have been eligible for funding under the federal program. Federal funding contributes a considerable proportion of the construction costs for the line extension.

In the course of the necessary planning approval procedure, all so-called public interest bodies were involved and the advantages and disadvantages of various design options for the basic expansion were weighed up extensively. Ultimately, the decision was made in favor of a track system in the middle of the road. The process has now been completed and planning permission was granted in 2017.

One of the arguments in favor of the variant that has now been implemented was the smaller area required and the lower surface sealing, as in addition to roads and tracks, the currently missing footpaths and cycle paths along Naumburger Straße were also to be reclassified.

The intention to extend the streetcar to the north has existed since the plans for the Himmelreich residential area (early 1990s). Among other things, it is part of the land use plan and all relevant strategic transport concepts (most recently the public transport concept 2030+). In addition to the public transport connection to the residential areas in the north, the expansion also serves to eliminate functional deficiencies in the existing section (single-track streetcar route, missing or inadequate walking/cycling facilities, poor road condition in some sections) and to integrate the new residential areas at the northern end of the city into the urban infrastructure. In addition, all relevant supply lines will be renewed as part of the construction project.

The planning was accompanied by the city council from the outset through step-by-step decisions. In preparation, technical variant studies were carried out (location of the tracks in the road, in the middle between directional lanes, on one side of the road) as well as economic feasibility studies, e.g. on alternative public transport options using buses. The economic efficiency of the measure was verified by means of a standardized evaluation.

Planning permission for the planned construction project was obtained on the legal basis of a planning approval procedure. The planning approval procedure is a formal and legally prescribed approval procedure for major infrastructure projects, such as road and streetcar projects. It serves to comprehensively examine, weigh up and bundle all private and public interests in order to approve a project for admissibility. It is regulated in §§ 72 ff. of the Administrative Procedure Act and in some cases in specialist legislation. The procedure ends with the planning approval decision, which contains all the necessary individual approvals.

The main features of the procedure are the examination of all impacts on the environment or third parties, public participation, the hearing procedure for public interest bodies (specialist authorities, associations), the hearing of objections and comments and the final plan approval decision as an administrative act, which contains all other necessary individual approvals, consents and permits and often has a preliminary effect under expropriation law, i.e. the plan adopted is binding for any subsequent expropriation procedure.
expropriation proceedings.

The planning approval decision for the construction project "New tramway Jena-Nord with reconstruction of Naumburger Straße between Camburger Straße and Carl-Orff-Straße" was issued by the Thuringian State Administration Office on 30.08.2017. A copy of the planning approval decision was publicly displayed in due time with information on legal remedies.

The planning approval decision becomes final as an administrative act after the undisturbed expiry of the appeal period, i.e. it is then incontestable and binding. Claims for omission of the project, for removal of installations or for omission of use are then excluded.

Three public events were held in February 2026. No further dates are currently planned. As soon as new dates are set, they will be announced in good time.

Tree felling was required for the major expansion of Naumburger Straße in the north of Jena. These were approved as part of the construction project. This affects 16 trees in the inner area of the Jena-Zwätzen streetcar turning loop - the area is required for storage and construction site facilities - as well as 79 other trees along Naumburger Strasse.

Replacement planting

A total of 112 replacement plantings are planned. Most of these will be planted in the vicinity of the construction work.

Replanting

In 2021, several large trees from the northern section of Naumburger Straße were transplanted to Wiesenstraße by Kommunalservice Jena. These trees have grown in their new location and have developed stably.

The project partners are the City of Jena, Jena's public transport system, Stadtwerke Jena Netze, JenaWasser and Kommunalservice Jena.

City of Jena

Planning:

• Ronald Müller
  Mobility Department, Project Manager
  Telephone: 0049 3641 49-5337
  E-mail: ronald.mueller@jena.de
  
• Petra Schmidt
  Mobility Department, Team Leader Planning Traffic Facilities
  Phone: 0049 3641 49-5321
  E-mail: petra.schmidt@jena.de

Municipal service Jena

Execution:

• Oliver Kalbe
  Construction and quality management, project manager
  Phone: 0049 3641 49-89147
  E-mail: oliver.kalbe@jena.de

Jena public transport

• Falk Hamann
  Project Manager
  Phone: 0049 3641 414127
  E-mail: falk.hamann@nahverkehr-jena.de

Zweckverband Jena Wasser and Stadtwerke Jena Netze GmbH

• Robert Egler
  Planning/construction management, project manager
  Phone: 0049 3641 688-767
  E-mail: robert.egler@stadtwerke-jena.de

• Construction site blog: Road construction measures in the city of Jena
• Construction site report of the city of Jena: current restrictions in the city area
• Information from the Stadtwerke Jena Group: New construction of the streetcar line to Himmelreich
• Presentation of the information events in February 2026
• Project list: Extension of the Himmelreich-Zwätzen streetcar line