Elsfleth railroad bridge

The Elsfleth railroad bridge crosses the River Hunte and thus represents an essential
structure for the Hude – Nordenham railroad line. On February 25, 2024,
an inland cargo ship collided with the 115 m long railroad swing bridge. The
structure was so badly damaged that it had to be replaced by a new
temporary structure within a very short space of time. This was achieved in just 60 days and
only thanks to the remarkable commitment of the employees involved.

During the implementation of this project, DEPENBROCK Ingenieurwasserbau,
once again underlined that its strengths lie not only in the development of innovative solutions, but also
in the very fast, precise execution of the project and the above-average
enthusiasm of the employees for the projects.

In close cooperation with the project partners, it was possible to construct a temporary structure in an extremely short construction period of
60 days. The tasks
of the hydraulic engineering department included the planning of the structure as well as the execution of
dredging and scour protection work, the construction of a new temporary pier made of
support pipes and inclined piles as well as the erection of a complex steel structure.

Challenges were posed on the one hand by the short-term availability of equipment and materials and
on the other hand by building in the existing structure of the old bridge. Thanks to the close and interlinked
cooperation between the various DEPENBROCK departments, it was possible to implement
in a very short time.

On April 23, 2024, the Deutsche Bahn temporary bridge was brought into the construction site and installed using a floating crane via
the waterway. Once the bridge had been successfully lifted into place,
the tracks and overhead line system could be rebuilt so that rail traffic could resume at the end of April 2024

Special features

• Extremely short construction time
• Renovation work within existing buildings
• Planning during construction
• Short-term equipment and material planning