Die semiintegrale Grubentalbrücke - Besonderheiten bei der Bauausführung

The semi-integral Grubental-Bridge - specific challenges during construction

With the completion of the Grubental-Bridge in summer 2013, within the sector 8.1 of the German major infrastructure project VDE8, situated at the up-station of the track-section Ebensfeld-Erfurt, yet another closure of the new high-speed line Nuremberg-Erfurt-Halle/Leipzig-Berlin was achieved. The Grubental-Bridge is among a series of special bridges, which were build based on a new construction method, as integral or semi-integral bridges. In the journal Bautechnik 10/2011 [1] the specifics of the integral construction method were already described, focusing on the design-related specifics and challenges. Following up, the report at hand shall highlight selected specific challenges during the construction of the bridge. It reflects specific requirements for the construction and equipment, connected to the semi-integral design, such as the 'adjusting of bending stresses' in the course of construction, for instance. Beyond that some general issues in connection with the construction of a pre-stressed concrete bridge shall be introduced, which however become more important in the case of a integral or semi-integral bridge, as for instance the geometric control during the erection process.