Idiot Bridge

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Idiotenbrücke is the colloquial name for an accident-prone railway bridge in Cologne , which spans the Innere Kanalstrasse in Cologne's Neuehrenfeld district .

New building

The bridge

The 30 meter long railway bridge, built in 1911, was a truss bridge . It completely spanned the five-lane Inner Canal Road, including two strips of sidewalks, in this area . It crossed the lanes at a height of 3.9  m . Two railway tracks including track ballast ran on it . Consisting of steel -built superstructure weighed 150  tons .

Prohibition for vehicles above the specified actual height (including load)

The bridge is part of the Cologne Gleisdreieck , where the previously parallel tracks from Cologne Central Station are distributed to the north, south and west. The Gladbacher Wall depot is located next to the sidings within the track triangle . At the Gleisdreieck a total of 8 railway bridges lead over the Inner Canal Road, which is heavily frequented by heavy goods vehicles. Until September 2007, the low bridge height of the Idiotenbrücke - with a clearance of previously 3.9  m - led to accidents with trucks that were higher and had not observed the traffic prohibition by traffic signs . In addition, this bridge was designed as an arch bridge , so that it had an even lower headroom at the bridge edges.

Origin of name

The Idiotenbrücke owes its name to the numerous truck drivers who wedged themselves with their trucks in the bridge framework. In 1997 alone, a total of 14 trucks got stuck on the bridge, although numerous warning notices and beacons and yellow flashing lights were set up at different intervals . Even a security service that had been set up and ran into the street waving when an alarm was triggered by a light barrier was able to reduce the frequency of accidents, but not completely prevent them. In the course of its history, it is estimated that over 100 trucks have gotten stuck, thereby clogging the Innere Kanalstrasse - one of the most important arteries in the city of Cologne. The bridge was therefore a frequent topic in the Cologne regional news and talk of the town.

"Idiot Bridge" today

The previous “Idiotenbrücke” was demolished in September 2007 and replaced by a new building. In July 2008 a new railway bridge with a height of 4.5  m was put into operation; the other seven bridges, however, were left at clearance heights between 3.60 and 4  m . This is why collisions continue to occur, so that the term "idiot bridge" has been transferred to these structures.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Sign No. 265 - "No vehicles above a certain height"
  2. ↑ Tschö Idiotenbrücke . In: Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger , September 8, 2007
  3. ↑ Truck stuck under "Idiotenbrücke" . In: Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger , October 5, 2011
  4. ↑ Truck is stuck under "Idiotenbrücke" . In: Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger , January 19, 2012

Coordinates: 50 ° 57 ′ 13.5 ″  N , 6 ° 56 ′ 28.2 ″  E