Hochdonn High Bridge

Train over the bridge.

The Hochdonn High Bridge (Hochbrücke Hochdonn in German) is a railway bridge in the Marsh Railway crossing the Kiel Canal near Hochdonn, Germany. It is a riveted steel bridge, "exposed to extreme railway traffic".^[1]

History of the Bridge

Postcard showing the railway and the High Bridge, circa 1920.

The rail bridge was opened on June 11, 1920.

American warship in the canal nearing the bridge, 1948.

The central part of the main span suffered from general deterioration, but damage caused by two ship collisions made it necessary to substitute a new center part. On November 6, 2006, the 121.10m, 1.465t long span was removed and carefully passed between the 120m gap of the two existing support points. Once removed, the steel structure was lowered onto a transport barge. The new structure that arrived the night before on another transport barge was lifted into place. While lowering and lifting work was going on, this section of the canal was closed and a large number of ships were waiting to pass; the alternative was to navigate around the northern tip of Denmark.

The new central span was also raised by 2m to a height of 42m above the canal, the same height as other bridges on the canal.^[2]

References

1. G. Sedlacek; C. Kammel; B. Kühn; W. Hensen (2007-11-30). "Condition assessment and inspection of steel railway bridges, including stress measurements in riveted, bolted and welded structures- Background document SB3.4" (PDF). sustainablebridges.net (E-report) (European Commission within the Sixth Framework Programme (2002-2006)). SB3.4. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
2. Prof. Sedlacek & Partner (2006). Eisenbahnbrücke Hochdonn - Germany, VSL Heavy Lifting removing old center part of the bridge and lifting new part in its place, saving existing supports. (Technical report). Krupp Stahlbau Hannover, VSL (Switzerland) Ltd. ID 1749.

Coordinates: 54°00′58″N 9°17′51″E / 54.0161°N 9.2975°E