Hybrid Frame Bridge, River Saale, Merseburg, Germany

This article presents the construction of a hybrid frame bridge with an effective span of about 56 m over the River Saale. In the official proposal, the superstructures of the existing bridge (single-cell hollow steel box with orthotropic plate) needed to be refurbished, while the substructure had to be built new. Therefore the two superstructures had to be moved aside on temporary abutments. The bridge crosses the River Saale at the eastern periphery of the city Merseburg following the course of B 181 federal road. It carries two lanes in each direction, and a separate superstructure exists for each direction. The bridge follows a straight line; the angle between the street axis and the abutment is 90°. The clearance between the two abutments is 53,5 m. A width between the railings of 21,6 m was planned, the longitudinal slope averages 1,6%. The bridge superstructure is built as a steel-concrete composite construction (as hybrid frame component) using a special construction method.