Two bridges, one job.
Steel bridges No. 6b and 11 over the Müggenburger Durchfahrt waterway have been important crossing points for Hamburg’s port railway (Hafenbahn) for over a century. They connect Hamburg South goods station with Germany’s main railway network (Deutsche Bahn). To keep this transport network running, two new bowstring bridges were erected.
Both demolition and new construction took place in difficult conditions. Confined spaces, the avoidance of interruptions to rail traffic and the observance of special foundation and tide conditions were difficult engineering challenges.
Firstly, Bridge No. 6b was dismantled, broken up and removed by water. Then the new foundation construction was manufactured with large bore piles and a sheet pile wall set in front. The new bridge was floated into position with the steel bows lying flat. On reaching the installation site, the steel bows were set up and welded to the deck. Subsequently the hangers were assembled. After Bridge No. 6b was commissioned, the construction of Bridge No.11 was implemented in the same way, without a single break in operation for the entire railway route.
Thus, today the Hafenbahn continues to follow the same route over the Müggenburger Durchfahrt as it did a hundred years ago.
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