Yorckbrücken Berlin

Yorckbrücken Berlin - Revitalisation of a listed ensemble of railway bridges including cast iron columns at risk of vehicle impacts

Berlin's Yorckbrücken are a listed ensemble of 26 railway bridges built between 1875 and 1934. After decades of neglect, a revitalisation concept has been developed, which takes into account their particular structural conditions. It proposes a new usage for several of the original bridges as pedestrian, bicycle or wildlife overpasses, while others that continue as railway bridges will be replaced. Existing cast iron columns, located closely besides a busy road, proved to be a serious challenge for the planned new uses, as they are not verifiable for impact loads. After an introduction into the history and significance of the bridges as well as the preservation guidelines, the article discusses alternative solutions for the problem of the cast iron columns. The implementation of the preferred alternative is presented through the example of bridge no. 5, which is the oldest surviving steel bridge in Berlin. It has been reconditioned in 2011/2012 to act as a sort of prototype for future works on other Yorckbrücken.