Erzbahnschwinge Bochum

The doubly curved suspension bridge across Gahlensche Straße – since May 2006 officially called "Erzbahnschwinge" – marks the start of the ore railway track at the Westpark north-west plateau. The principal of this outstanding bridge finished in 2003 was the Kommunalverband Ruhrgebiet, the design was by the Stuttgart bridge architect Professor Schlaich.
The 130m long bridge for pedestrians and cyclists crosses the here dangerous road, railway track and tube bridge intersection. The bridge is a cabled S-shaped steel structure. The structure’s curved shape is followed by two 32m tall masts, inclined toward the respective circle’s midpoint and bearing one half of the bridge each. There are now bracing cables since both masts are arranged in a way that makes for tangential cables, i.e. they stand in their respective half’s centre of gravity. For additional stabilisation, the root points were put beneath the bridge. The cables are anchored at the abutments built where the former bridge’s ones were found. Matching the bridge there is a robust and transparent cable grid rail that does not impede the bridge’s appearance and provides safety.

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Author: Regionalverband Ruhr
Last changed on 14.08.2007

Categories:
Engineering » Transportation