Firm： schneider+schumacher / Frankfurt - Vienna - Tianjin

Type： Transport + Infrastructure › Bridge

YEAR： 2013

Photographer: Jörg Hempel

The location of the bridge so close to the harbour's storage tanks was of particular concern at the design stage. The oil depot is used for the transfer and storage of highly flammable substances. For this reason, the bridge had to be designed to prevent people on the bridge gaining access to the passing tankers, or at least to make it difficult.

In view of these exacting circumstances, a solution was developed that not only fulfils all the safety requirements, but also takes into account the specific location of the bridge on the River Main. The objective was to emphasize the bridge's leisure use, and above all to provide unobstructed river views from the bridge despite all the safety issues. The combination of design strategy and safety requirements has resulted in a bridge with an elegant, curved and sculptural form.

The construction, with a total length of approximately 170m, consists of a continuous five-part girder, which allows some 70m to be spanned at the harbour entrance. Viewed from above, the bridge appears as a lightly undulating S-shape, which, at its north end, culminates in a circular access ramp: a 14-metre spiral, constructed of white concrete.

The clue of the design lies in the cross-section chosen for the bridge: an L-shaped hollow steel box. On one side the vertical wall rises up to a height of 2.8m above the walkway, providing the required shielding towards the oil terminal. On the other side, facing the river Main, the bridge structure extends horizontally up to 2.5m beyond the line of the parapet, serving as protection. Additionally, the parapet arrangement, with its filigree netting made of stainless steel, slopes inwards in order to keep pedestrians away from the bridge edge.