Overview

• The Transport Ministry says new approvals from the federal needs plan are currently not possible due to the financing shortfall.
• Nationwide, 74 planning projects lack secure funding, with 29 listed in North Rhine-Westphalia as effectively paused or uncertain.
• Affected NRW items include the A1 near Hamm and the Eifel gap closure, A40 widening, A3 works around Oberhausen, A45 sections in the Sauerland, A57 near Krefeld, A59 at Duisburg and Cologne, and the planned A445.
• Officials attribute the deficit largely to recent construction price inflation, which has pushed costs beyond available allocations for 2026–2029.
• NRW leaders Hendrik Wüst and Oliver Krischer condemned the federal shifts, warning of wasted planning effort and citing dozens of state projects now at risk, with timelines still unclear.