Railway Bridge across the Havel River

The new seven-track Havel River Bridge is on the high-speed railway line being developed between Berlin and Hannover. The previous rail crossing at this site, built between 1907 and 1912, had four tracks on two 60 m long single-span riveted steel truss bridges. After an unsuccessful competition, the Railway invited the authors to submit design proposals, two of which were developed for tender. The first design called for conventional tied arch bridges, while the second was an innovative type of trough-bridge with the webs forming a wave-like pattern. The trough-bridge was slightly cheaper per m² than the tied arch design, but its additional surface area resulted in greater overall cost. However, the recently privatized German Railway (Deutsche Bahn), together with the local government, were willing to consider additional criteria, such as sound insulation and visual appearance, and decided in favor of the trough-bridge.