One of Germany’s longest autobahns is to undergo a major transformation – sections of the A7 will be covered over, allowing for the creation of parks, meadows, woods, cycleways and gardens on the newly-created ‘roof’.

Excessive noise pollution caused by increased traffic has been affecting the town of Hamburg – the solution is to send a stretch of the road underground.

Reinhard Schier, from Hamburg’s Ministry of Urban Development and Environment, said: “Our plan is to reunite the west and the east of the city, which have been separated by the road. Once completed, there will be peace, gardens, bird song, and clean air.”

Spanning a two mile (3.2km) section of the road, the covered areas will create 60 acres of green space for the city. There are also plans to build 2,000 new homes along the route.

Construction will begin on the first two autobahn covers later in 2015, with completion expected by 2022. The A7 will be expanded during the process, with some sections increasing to eight lanes. The total cost will be E775m (£590m, US$890m). marketing.hamburg.de