Schwansbell Bridge celebrating 50th Birthday

Although by 1955 several aluminium road bridges had already been built abroad, the only bridge built using this metal in Germany had been a pedestrian bridge. The first aluminium road bridge, the Schwansbell Bridge spanning the Datteln–Hamm Canal near Lünen, was opened to traffic in 1956 (Fig. 1). Even though the specific weight of the aluminium alloy used was only a third of that of steel, a rough cost calculation carried out showed that given the relative prices at the time the use of aluminium was uneconomical. However, the aluminium producer and the bridge-building company both contributed considerable resources, and the Water and Shipping Authority, which was responsible locally, decided to build an aluminium bridge. Even at the time, the clients showed a pioneering and innovative spirit. Using it as a kind of pilot project, they wanted to find out more about the design, processing, and erection of a bridge using aluminium, and to apply this knowledge to future bridge-building projects. In addition, they wanted to gain experience with respect to the corrosion behaviour of the finished construction.