General Information
Project Type
| Structure: |
Girder bridge |
|---|---|
| Function / usage: |
Motorway bridge / freeway bridge |
| Material: |
Steel bridge |
Location
| Location: |
Gummersbach, Oberbergischer Kreis, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany |
|---|---|
| Carries: |
|
| Part of: | |
| Coordinates: | 50° 58' 30.33" N 7° 29' 22.92" E |
Technical Information
Dimensions
| total length | 705 m | |
| span lengths | 65 m - 80 m - 88 m - 3 x 100 m - 92 m - 80 m | |
| number of spans | 8 | |
| bridge surface | 21 326 m² | |
| height above valley floor or water | max. 60 m | |
| deck | width | 30.25 m |
Quantities
| Repairs | ||
|---|---|---|
| structural steel | 160 t | |
| Rehabilitation | ||
| structural steel | 460 t | |
Cost
| Repairs | ||
|---|---|---|
| cost of construction | Euro 3 500 000 | |
| Rehabilitation | ||
| cost of construction | Euro 9 400 000 | |
Materials
| girders |
steel
|
|---|
Chronology
| 26 August 2004, 10:40 | A passenger car skids on wet asphalt and crashes into a tanker truck causing the latter to skid itself off the bridge. The truck crashes onto the valley ground 10 meters below, killing the driver and causing the explosion of the 33 000 liters of gas and diesel in the tank. The resulting fire develops temperatures as high as 1 100 °C. For fear of significant structural damage to the bridge dock the entire bridge is closed to traffic indefinitely by the authorities. |
|---|
Excerpt from Wikipedia
The Wiehltal Bridge is a highway bridge on the A 4 motorway between Cologne and Olpe over the Wiehltal valley at Engelskirchen (Oberbergischer Kreis), North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
Overview
The bridge is 30.25 m wide, 705 m long and has a bridge surface of 21,326 m². The highest point above ground is 60 m. It consists completely of a steelwork construction, whose rolling-element bearing rests on concrete pillars. In contrast to similar bridges, the roadways of both driving directions are carried by continuous elements. Construction of the bridge was completed in 1971.
Damage and closure
The burning remains of the tanker under the bridge
At 10:40 on 26 August 2004 a car collided with a tanker truck containing 32,000 liters of fuel on the Wiehltal Bridge. The guard rails were designed only to stop vehicles up to 13 tons and were unable to hold the truck, which fell 30 meters off the A 4 Autobahn and exploded. The truck driver was killed; the heat damage destroyed the load-bearing ability of the bridge and it had to be closed to traffic.
Provisional repairs were made in autumn 2004. Plans for a replacement bridge are expected to be formulated in the spring of 2005. Repairs are estimated at € 32 million and replacement could cost up to € 250 million, including the cost for disposing of the waste. This was by far the most expensive accident in the history of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Repair and reopening
The bridge was repaired and re-opened to traffic on 18 October 2007.
Text imported from Wikipedia article "Wiehltal bridge" and modified on July 23, 2019 according to the CC-BY-SA 4.0 International license.
Participants
- Christoph Meinsma (checking engineer)
Relevant Web Sites
Relevant Publications
- (2007): Brandschaden und Instandsetzung der Wiehltalbrücke im Zuge der A4, Köln - Olpe. In: Stahlbau, v. 76, n. 2 (February 2007), pp. 94-104.
- Brücken und Tunnel der Bundesfernstraßen 2008. Deutscher Bundes-Verlag, Cologne (Germany), ISBN 978-3-935064-54-5, 2008, pp. 127-139.
- About this
data sheet - Structure-ID
20013086 - Published on:
27/08/2004 - Last updated on:
05/02/2016
