Integrale Großbrücken mit flexiblen Widerlagern

Large integral bridges with flexible abutments. Experiences with the construction of the Taxiway Bridge East 1 at the Frankfurt Airport

At the Frankfurt Airport, five integral taxiway bridges were built to connect the new Runway Northwest with the apron area. The superstructure of the frame bridges mostly consist of prestressed prefabricated girders completed with a cast-in-place concrete deck. The bridge construction without joints and bearings allows robust and durable structures. For the first time, flexible abutments were placed at large bridge constructions in order to reduce soil pressure. The bridges are designed for a total load of 750 tons, which covers all current models of aircraft. The overall deck area of the Taxiway Bridge East 1 amounts nearly 20000 m². Hence, this bridge belongs to the largest integral bridges in Europe.
In this paper, the design features of the Taxiway Bridge East 1 are reviewed and the jointless construction method is discussed.