Wutach Railway Bridge
Company | PORR Bau GmbH |
Principal | DB InfraGO |
Location | Lauchringen - Germany |
Type | Bridge construction |
Runtime | 01.2024 - 10.2024 |
The Black Forest’s new link: New bridge over Wutach
An exciting construction project in Baden-Württemberg is complete: the old railway bridge over the Wutach on the Basel-Konstanz line has been replaced by an innovative successor. As key partners in this venture, the PORR experts of the railway construction, civil engineering and steel construction departments have contributed significantly to the project’s success. The complex endeavour was successfully realised in close collaboration with Wiesbauer GmbH & Co. KG, Max Wild GmbH and RSW Roßlauer Schiffswerft.
380 tonnes of steel perfectly placed
The former railway bridge, a 55-m-long and 38-m-wide steel-lattice structure, has been replace by a single-track bridge in the form of a steel bowstring arch. The new bridge offers increased clearance for road traffic and optimises flood runoff in the Wutach floodplain. In addition, the continuous ballast track for rail traffic significantly reduces noise levels in the surrounding area.
With a height of 10 m and an impressive weight of 380 t, the new bridge is an impressive feat of engineering and logistics. The steel bridge was manufactured at the side of the installation site.
It was then moved closer to the installation site in a complex procedure using a 700-t crawler crane. A tandem lifting procedure was used for the final installation, in which a second 650-tonne crawler crane lifted the bridge from the opposite bank into its final position.
A double feat of engineering
Another major challenge was the transverse shifting and lowering of the abutments, each of which weighed around 900 t. These were first concreted in a lateral position and fitted with the necessary seals and drainage stones. After that, they were pushed sideways and the structure was lowered precisely onto the prepared pile foundations. This complex process required a special logistics concept.
However, the Wutach railway bridge was not the only structure to be built during the line closure. We also worked on the Klingengraben railway bridge, just a few kilometres away. Carrying out both projects at the same time was a particular challenge and required precise coordination of both construction sites. It was then moved closer to the installation site in a complex procedure using a 700-t crawler crane.