Bridge building excursion 2019 - Southern Germany and Alpine region

Finally excursion again! 13 interested students of civil engineering came together in this warm August to take part in the somewhat different excursion series. In the years before the bridges around the Baltic Sea and the bridges of the Rhine-Ruhr area up to the North Sea were in the centre of attention. This time the group travelled to the south of our republic and to the impressive mountains of Switzerland.

Already on the first day the visit of the bridge Heidingsfeld was a big highlight on the program. The composite bridge in the course of the BAB A3 is currently still in the feed between Nonnenberg and Katzenbergtunnel, which was also inspected. After a first purchase, which ensured the basic supply, the students moved into a campground near Heilbronn, in order to be able to visit two further interesting building sites the next day. On the following morning we had a look at the overall project AS Wiesloch/Rauenberg -AK Weinsberg in the course of the BAB A6. In addition to the highlight of the new Neckartal bridge, the demolition work on the old Neckartal bridge could be inspected and smaller bridge structures could be visited in the course of the replacement construction.

In the afternoon, the Neckar Bridge in Stuttgart was another interesting building on the agenda. The building, which was constructed in steel composite construction with a striking steel sail, will be implemented in the course of Stuttgart 21. Enriched with many impressions from the first two days we moved into a camping site near the Filstal.

Already on the way, the students got a first glimpse of the Filstal bridge under construction. This 485 m long railway overpass of the new Wendlingen-Ulm line was the destination of the next day. The integral structure will be constructed with a feed scaffold and there was a rare opportunity to inspect the already laid tendons of the superstructure. Explanations of the construction and the challenges of the structural implementation followed in the adjacent Boßlertunnel, which we were also allowed to visit. After a longer drive we reached Switzerland and moved to a campground near the Viamala Gorge.

Relaxed and strengthened we went the next morning into the Viamala gorge on the tracks of Jürg Conzett and Christian Menn. These two well-known civil engineers are responsible for numerous different hiking and footpath bridges, suspension bridges, tension bridges and also bridges on the A13 (including Traversinasteg). Slightly exhausted, the excursion participants arrived at the campsite in the evening after a 15 kilometre hike. Impressively embedded in the mountain landscape, several icons of bridge building awaited us the next day. The Salginatobel Bridge, the elegantly curved Sunniberg Bridge, the Tamina Bridge and the Langwies Viaduct are outstanding engineering structures and almost architectural works of art. We reached our next accommodation near Nuremberg late in the evening after the extensive sightseeing program, the next destination was already within reach.

The following day we got interesting insights at the valley bridge Unterrieden and at the motorway junction Fürth-Erlangen.

On Sunday, the excursion leaders Oliver Steinbock and Philipp Riegelmann led the students through the World Heritage City of Bamberg. In addition to Franconian beer specialities, the winner of the 2014 Bridge Building Award (Erba-Steg) and the bridge trio (Kettenbrücke, Löwenbrücke and Luitpoldbrücke) across the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal were on the programme. The conclusion of our successful excursion was the one-sided cable-stayed bridge under construction at Schorgast.

The excursion offered a broad insight into the world of engineering as well as a lot of fun and relaxation.

Oliver Steinbock and Philipp Riegelmann