Project

It's crumbling and disintegrating. Germany's infrastructure has visibly deteriorated significantly over the past decades and is now largely given over to decay. A new generation of bridges is taking on this decline:
Construction of a novel composite precast bridge with steel beams embedded in concrete (VFT-WIB construction method) over the White Elster river in Osendorf/Saxony-Anhalt. For the first time, an individually galvanized steel structure was to be used to ensure durability for a planned service life of 100 years.

Realisation

The 10.5-metre long steel components were first cut at ArcelorMittal's processing centre and then coated with duroZINQ at ZINQ's Landsberg/Halle site. On the construction site, two steel beams were welded together at a time, lifted into the formwork, and the composite steel-concrete structure was completed. The assembly revealed a significant advantage of the galvanised version, namely its robustness in handling the components, as unlike a painted finish, there was no damage to the corrosion protection, thus avoiding annoying and, above all, complex, costly and time-consuming repair work. The project was completed swiftly, and the Elster Bridge in Osendorf was handed over to traffic.