Two new railway bridges in northern Bavaria were successfully completed and opened for traffic. Piasten bridge in Forchheim and the railway bridge over motorway A73 each combine a tied-arch bridge with a truss structure. The construction project is part of the expansion to four tracks of the railway line between Nuremberg and Ebensfeld. Two of the tracks are upgraded for high-speed trains with speeds of up to 230 kmph, the other two tracks are used for regional and freight trains. This upgrading project comprises 14 new railway bridges between Nuremberg and Bamberg – Piasten bridge and the bridge over motorway A73 are two of them.
Hoisting of Piasten bridge was a spectacular enterprise – two crawler cranes lifted the 44-metre long, around 14-metre wide and 15-metre high, bright red steel structure millimetre-by-millimetre over the tracks. The whole operation took in total two hours until the new bridge reached its location.Launching of the structure over A73 was also successful. In the night from 1st to 2nd July, the 1200-tonne heavy giant was centimetre-by-centimetre launched into its final position.
On 7 July, Piasten bridge was formally opened for traffic. The bridge over A73 will be finished in the following months.
The completion of the two bridges signifies a big step forward towards expanding the railway line between Nuremberg and Bamberg. By separating high-speed from slower rail traffic, capacities are increased and a foundation for reliable connections is built. Moreover, all stations along the line will be modernised and expanded: important steps for more traffic on the tracks and thus an important contribution to climate protection.
SSF services: Project planning of engineering structures: final design, preparation and evaluation of tenders; fee structure IVStructural engineering: draft and final design, preparation of tenders
