Kienlesberg Bridge Move in Ulm Successful

With the latest of the eleven moves and the hoisting of the twelfth section on 29 April 2017, the shunting operation of the construction for the new public transport, pedestrian and cycling bridge was successfully completed. Since the award of the contract in 2012, KREBS + KIEFER have been working alongside with Knight Architects from the UK to carry out a complete project and load bearing structure planning for the 270 m long construction.

As the route of the new tram line 2, the future Kienlesberg bridge will carry two trams as well as bus transport, pedestrian and bicycle traffic to the Ulm Science City. It also crosses several German railways tracks, including the south portal of the Albabstieg tunnel of the new Stuttgart-Ulm line still under construction.

This highly complex location required a geometrically non-uniform structure, which was realised by KREBS + KIEFER and Knight Architects in the form of a semi-integral, asymmetric, orthotropic plate with wavy forms with longitudinal girders of varied heights. Visually the structure represents the flow of the river and is in line with the “Ulmer Design“ tradition.

As the structure had to be superimposed over the dense railway and construction operation, a longitudinal shift of the superstructure was launched in the middle of 2016. Following the installation of the superstructure, track laying and extension work started. The completion of a nearly EUR 18mn bridge project is scheduled for early 2018. KREBS+KIEFER is still actively overseeing the construction.