Hochrhein Bridge

Hochrhein Bridge
Convicted	Municipal road
Crossing of	Rhine , km 115.98
place	Laufenburg (Baden) , Laufenburg AG
construction	Prestressed concrete - girder bridge
overall length	225 m
width	11.2 m
Longest span	95 m
building-costs	9.8 million francs
start of building	2003
completion	2004
opening	December 17, 2004
	location

47.561791666667 8.0747694444444Coordinates: 47 ° 33 '42 " N , 8 ° 4' 29" E ; CH1903: 647 876 / 268092

The Hochrheinbrücke is a road bridge over the High Rhine between the Swiss city of Laufenburg AG and the German city of Laufenburg (Baden) . It is located about one kilometer above the Laufenbrücke and forms the most important structure on the new L 151a connecting road between Waldshuter Strasse ( Bundesstrasse 34 ) on the right side of the Rhine and Swiss Hauptstrasse 7 (Kantonsstrasse 130) on the left side of the river.

history

The Hochrheinbrücke was built between 2003 and 2004 as the second connection between the two villages. The narrow entrances to the older Rhine bridge , especially in the historic Swiss town of Laufenburg , were no longer sufficient for the growing vehicle traffic. The bridge construction site hit the headlines when, due to a planning error during construction, there was a difference in height between the two abutments .

construction

The prestressed concrete bridge is 225 m long. It has the continuous beam as a building system in the longitudinal direction . The span for the three-field overpass is 95 m in the middle field and 65 m in the two peripheral fields. In the transverse direction, the 11.2 m wide superstructure is designed as a single-cell hollow box cross - section with a haunched construction height.

The structure has two lanes and walkways on both sides. For shipping there is a passage with a clear width of 80 m and a clearance height of 7.0 m at the highest navigable water level.

Construction failure

Germany and Switzerland have different heights. The German elevation system refers to the height definition of the Amsterdam level with meters above sea level , whereas the Swiss national survey refers to meters above sea level with reference to the Repère Pierre du Niton near Geneva . This fact was known to the responsible engineers and was also taken into account in the planning. A height difference of 27 cm was calculated, which had to be compensated. This should be achieved by a planned elevation of the abutment on the Swiss side. However, due to an incorrect sign, the abutment was built 27 cm lower. Thus the difference in height increased to a total of 54 cm. The error was noticed during the construction work and could be eliminated at an early stage. The result was corrective measures on the German abutment and height adjustments of the bridge superstructure. A Swiss engineering office was responsible for the planning, and its liability insurance was responsible for the damage. According to a report by Swissinfo , however, the error should not have caused any additional costs.

International agreement for construction and maintenance

On June 8, 2005, the Federal Republic of Germany and the Swiss Federal Council regulated responsibility for the Hochrheinbrücke. This international agreement was approved on December 2, 2006 by a law of the German Bundestag. Half of the construction costs were borne by Germany and Switzerland. The canton of Aargau was transferred with the agreement of the maintenance of the bridge.

Customs and border crossing "Laufenburg"

The Hochrheinbrücke is the border crossing between Germany and Switzerland. The large customs facility is located on the German side at the bridgehead on the right bank. The customs administrations of both countries work in the same building. The German customs office in Laufenburg belongs to the main customs office in Singen; the Swiss customs office is part of the Aarau customs inspectorate.