Maintaining an emblem.
For over a century, the Rendsburg High Bridge has provided an important railway link over the Kiel Canal. It is also a unique intersection of three modes of transport: shipping, railway and road traffic. A special feature is the “suspension ferry” (i.e. transporter bridge) that connects the two banks for road traffic. Today, the High Bridge – a riveted lattice framework construction – is regarded as a historical emblem of German engineering skill.
And this emblem needs to be maintained. Thus, while the trains continued to run, steel and corrosion protection works were carried out on large areas of the 2,486 metre long lattice framework bridge. For this, the High Bridge was encased, section by section, in an airtight and dustproof housing. Our responsibility was the constructional testing of the work scaffolding including on-site supervision.
Use was made of free-standing scaffolding that was erected for the bridge piers to a height of up to 32 metres, and also suspended scaffolding that was mounted on the superstructure. The section-by-section scaffolding works took place over a period of 15 years and were continually tested by us.
We are delighted that our engineering skills were able to contribute to maintaining a unique example of the art of building.
© Chironius, Tankred Schmitt, Tankred Schmitt