Last week marked the ground-breaking ceremony for a new Bridge in Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler.
Work has now begun on replacing the historic stone bridge, which was almost completely destroyed by the Ahr flood in 2021. sbp Managing Director Frank Schächner joined the celebrations and presented the plans for the new replacement structure.
The design by schlaich bergermann partner is a single-span girder with resolved haunches that spans 60 meters over the river Ahr without any supports. The integral bridge consists of a hollow steel box girder, which is anchored in the abutments and has a concrete composite slab. The substructure is made of weatherproof steel so that no additional coating is required.
By anchoring the girder in the abutments, the construction height in the middle of the bridge can be reduced to a minimum to ensure the largest possible flow cross-section of the river. In addition, the haunches at the anchoring point of the abutments are designed to be open in order to further increase the flow volume. In the event of flooding, this allows the water to flow more easily through the bridge. The new structure therefore meets all the requirements for adapted flood protection in the Ahr valley.
The restoration of the Heppingen Bridge is an important step towards rebuilding the infrastructure in the area affected by the flood. Construction work on the bridge is currently in progress – the foundation piles are being installed, followed by the concrete work for the abutments and the steel work. The bridge is expected to open to pedestrians, cyclists and road traffic in late fall 2025.
