Echelsbacher Bridge
Coordinates: 47 ° 42 ′ 36 ″ N , 10 ° 58 ′ 35 ″ E
 Echelsbacher Bridge
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| Official name | Ammerbrücke Echelsbach | |
| use | Road bridge | |
| Convicted | Bundesstrasse 23 | |
| Crossing of | Ammer Gorge | |
| Longest span | 130 m | |
| height | 76 m | |
| building-costs | 900,000 Reichsmarks (equivalent to 3,169,742 euros today) | |
| start of building | 1928 | |
| completion | December 1929 | |
| opening | April 27, 1930 | |
| construction time | 14 months | |
| planner | Heinrich Spangenberg based on an improved construction principle by Joseph Melan | |
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The Echelsbacher Brücke is an arched bridge over the Ammer between Rottenbuch and Bad Bayersoien in the south-west of Upper Bavaria . Here the federal highway 23 crosses the Ammer gorge between Rottenbuch in the north and Bad Bayersoien in the south.
The 183-meter-long structure was completed in 1929 at 900,000 Reichsmark construction costs and at that time, with a 130-meter arch span, it was the widest-span Melan arch bridge in the world. The road is 76 meters above the valley floor.
history
In the 2nd century AD, Emperor Septimius Severus had the existing mule tracks over the Brenner and the Seefelder Sattel expanded into a paved road . The newly created Via Raetia significantly shortened the connection across the Alps compared to the previous Via Claudia Augusta . By the time of Ludwig IV at the latest , the connection between Landsberg am Lech and Partenkirchen ran not only via Wessobrunn and Weilheim , but also as Via Imperii via Schongau and Oberammergau . The most difficult section of this route led through the Echelsbach Gorge near Bad Bayersoien . When Augsburg became more and more important for trade in the 15th century, the importance of this street also increased, so that a regular haulage company, the "Rott", was soon set up. Freights were kept in “bale houses” until several carters came together. These then brought the goods on in "trains" or "packs" under safe escort. In 1536 the monasteries Rottenbuch and Ettal and the Rottstellen Schongau and Ammergau agreed because of the great dangers and difficulties, the road through the Ammer Gorge to move ( position ). This road, too, had an incline of up to twenty percent despite tight bends, so that the surrounding farmers occasionally had to perform post-tensioning services. Despite this change, minor and major accidents continued to occur. In addition, the road could not be used for weeks after heavy showers and in winter.
The latest research results from scientific research on Roman roads connect the Ammer crossing at the Echelsbacher Bridge with the “Coveliacas” road station of the “Tabula Peutingeriana”. In this Roman route directory, the station on the route between Abodiacum ( Epfach ) am Lech and Parteno ( Partenkirchen ) is shown at the crossing over a river. The distance to Partenkirchen is given as XX Roman miles (30 km). The existence of the Roman road connection is assured, there are divergent views about the exact route in the area. After the distance and the graphic representation in the tabula, this street station is located at the crossing over the Ammer in the area of today's Echelsbacher Bridge. Here an important trade route crossed the river, which may have existed as early as pre-Roman times, then expanded by the Romans and then used extensively. The arduous ascent and descent of this basin could only be managed with the help of post-tensioning services. Keeping pre-tensioning services available was also one of the service programs of the (state) Roman road stations. The researchers see the Latin word convallis (= deep valley incision) in the station name Co (n) veliacas .
planning
In the middle of the 19th century there were considerations to reduce the incline at the dangerous spots on this road by means of deep cuts in the terrain to around eight to ten percent. In 1890 the plan came up to build a concrete bridge about 100 meters south of the current position. At the turn of the century it was supposed to be an iron truss bridge. Shortly before the First World War , the possibility of using the water power of the Ammer was investigated . For this purpose, a 62 meter high dam wall was to be built and the road was to be led on its crown. In addition to the electricity, it was also promised to secure against floods of the Ammer and a slower siltation of the Ammersee shores. The outbreak of war ruined these plans.
In preparation for the Oberammergau Passion Play in 1930, on November 19, 1924, the district office of Schongau called on the communities along the Ammerschlucht to speak out in favor of building a high bridge over the Ammer to improve the traffic situation in the Ammertal. In 1928, the Bavarian state government launched a public competition for the construction of a high bridge near Echelsbach. The contract went to the Hochtief company in conjunction with the engineering office Streck und Zenns from Munich and the Kaiserslautern ironworks .
construction
Work began on November 8, 1928 with the first of a total of 4,712 explosives. The Melan- Spangenberg construction system was used as the construction. Here, the steel frame is preloaded with gravel and finally replaced step by step with an equally heavy concrete casing. From the west and east sides, a start was made on building the two cantilever steel arches at the same time . The construction was so precise that the west and east sections were only two centimeters apart when the arch closed. The side members of the road were pressed together with oil presses. The bridge was opened to traffic 422 days after the start of construction. Between 70 and 100 men worked on the bridge.
3,000 cubic meters of rock were excavated, 850 kilograms of explosives were used, 3,300 cubic meters of concrete and 500 tons of iron (400 tons of sectional steel and 100 tons of reinforcing steel) were processed, as well as 87,000 rivets, most of which were forged on site. The Echelsbach Bridge was consecrated on April 27, 1930 by the Archbishop of Munich and Cardinal Michael von Faulhaber .
Technical specifications
The two-hinged arch has an arch stitch of 31.8 m with a span of 130 m. It consists of two support levels with rectangular hollow cross-sections with a clearance of 4.5 m. The cross-sectional width is 1.5 m in each case, with a height of 2.0 m in the apex and 3.0 m in the abutment . The 10.76 m wide (since 1984, originally 8.3 m) and 182.83 m long superstructure is a two-legged T- beam made of reinforced concrete . The beams are arranged at a distance of 6.0 m, have four Gerber joints and are supported on rectangular reinforced concrete columns.
Renovations and replacement construction
Renovations took place in 1963/64, 1973/74 and 1983/86.
In March 2014, a renewed renovation was decided. The listed arches are retained; The abutment, posts and roadway will be rebuilt.
On January 19, 2017, the government of Upper Bavaria issued the planning approval decision for the replacement building. Construction work began in late January 2017 and is expected to be completed by 2021. An information pavilion on the Ammer Gorge as a natural attraction and on the history of the bridge will then also be opened. During the construction work, the traffic of the B 23 rolls over a temporary bridge of the type SS-80 that was built next to the old bridge , which is considered the largest temporary bridge in Germany. Its construction began in spring 2017; it has been under traffic since June 2018.
Others
Information board
There is a plaque on the railing with the following text: “The Bohemian engineer and Viennese professor Joseph Melan was the first to describe a reinforced concrete construction in which he replaced the expensive supporting structure, which was particularly complicated over deep ravines, with a steel scaffolding arch, which was then added Concrete was encased. The Munich professor Heinrich Spangenberg extended the application of this construction method to large arched structures. He first had the steel scaffolding arch preloaded with gravel and then gradually replaced this ballast with a concrete coating of the same weight. This prevented the arch structure from deforming unevenly during the concreting process. ”Another board provides a short poem about the time before the bridge, when some cars only came up the mountain when“ pulled by ox and horse ”.
Suicides
The bridge became known for the many suicides that occurred there. By 1999 there were 85. Although the bridge railing was therefore raised, there were repeated suicides on the bridge. The information pavilion on the bridge planned for 2021 is also intended to remind of this.
Preservation in World War II
Shortly before the end of World War II, the bridge was supposed to be blown up by the SS to stop the advance of US troops. This was prevented by a life-threatening action by the road supervisor at the time, Lorenz Utschneider.
Bat colony
A large colony of large mouse- eared bats has nested inside the bridge arch at least since the 1950s, using six entry holes each in the north and south arch of the bridge. In preparation for the bridge renovation planned for the 2010s, the area of the colony was gradually limited to parts of the southern arch. After the renovation, the bats should use the entire arch of the bridge again. The arches of the bridge are designated as an independent Natura 2000 area, although the bridge itself is already located in the Ammerschlucht nature reserve on the Echelsbacher bridge, which was designated in 1959 .
Web links
- Echelsbacher Brücke Echelsbacher Brücke as a hiking destination .
- Brief information from Hochtief AG about the Echelsbacher Bridge
- Michael Kordon, German Abenthum: Going down in building history. The partial renovation of the Echelsbacher Bridge receives the German Road and Transport Engineer Award. Bayerische Staatszeitung , January 12, 2018, accessed on January 13, 2018 .
- Matthias Köpf: How to draw a bow about monument, species and nature conservation. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung . Online version August 11, 2019, accessed August 12, 2019.
literature
- Alfred Grundner, Manfred Müller, Lorenz Obermaier: The Echelsbacher Bridge. Becoming the Ammertal - precursor bridges - planning - construction. In: The Welf. Yearbook of the Historisches Verein Schongau - Stadt und Land, ISSN 0949-1716 , Volume 10 (2008/09), pp. 247–304.
- The Federal Minister of Transport (ed.): Maintenance work on bridges and other engineering structures of roads. Documentation 1990. Verkehrsblatt-Verlag, Dortmund 1990, ISBN 3-89273-068-7 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Hans Bauer: The Roman highways between Iller and Salzach according to the Itinerarium Antonini and the Tabula Peutingeriana. New research results on route guidance. History Volume 8. Utz, Munich 2007, ISBN 978-3-8316-0740-2 .
- ↑ Holger Eggemann u. Karl-Eugen Kurrer : On the international Propagation of the Melan Arch System since 1892 . In: Proceedings of the IIIrd International Congress on Construction History, Vol. 2 . Edited by K.-E. Kurrer, W. Lorenz, V. Wetzk, pp. 517-525 (here: p. 520). Berlin: NEUNPLUS1 Verlag + Service GmbH 2009, ISBN 978-3-936033-31-1
- ↑ Echelsbacher Brücke: renovation or demolition? Both! Münchner Merkur online, March 14, 2014, accessed on March 14, 2014 .
- ↑ Bundesstraße 23 - Echelsbacher Brücke - specifications for the planning competition have been set. (PDF) Staatliches Bauamt Weilheim, March 14, 2014, archived from the original on January 18, 2015 ; Retrieved May 5, 2016 .
- ↑ Echelsbacher Brücke: Work will start on Monday. Münchner Merkur online, January 25, 2017, accessed on January 26, 2017 .
- ↑ a b Andreas Baar: Information pavilion and memorial planned at Echelsbacher Brücke. Münchner Merkur, March 8, 2020, accessed on March 9, 2020 .
- ↑ Michael Gretschmann: Record steel colossus over the Ammer Gorge. Münchner Merkur, November 28, 2017, accessed October 24, 2018 .
- ↑ andreas Baar: Spectacular construction site - Echelsbach: From now on, traffic will roll over Germany's largest temporary bridge. Munchner Merkur online, June 24, 2018, accessed October 24, 2018 .
- ↑ Christof Schnürer: New construction of the Echelsbacher bridge - more protection against suicide. Münchner Merkur online, July 16, 2015, accessed on September 13, 2019 .
- ↑ Hans-Helmut Herold: Shortly before the end of the war - How Lorenz Utschneider saved the Echelsbach Bridge from destruction. Münchner Merkur online, September 12, 2019, accessed on September 13, 2019 .
- ^ Bridge renovation - resettlement of the Great Mouse Ears. FÖA Landschaftsplanung GmbH, accessed on September 27, 2014 .