Köhlbrand Bridge, Cable-stayed bridge in Hamburg, Germany
The Köhlbrand Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge over the Köhlbrand, an arm of the Süderelbe, connecting the Elbe island of Wilhelmsburg with the A7 motorway at Waltershof. Its 520-metre steel main span rests on two blue steel pylons that rise 135 metres above mean high tide on 37-metre concrete pillars, with 88 stay cables fanning down to a 17.2-metre-wide roadway slab. The full crossing, including the eastern and western ramp bridges, is 3,618 metres long.
Construction began in the early seventies to create a direct link for the growing port and industrial traffic. The opening took place in the mid-seventies and offered an alternative to the existing tunnel and ferry connections.
The construction connects two major port districts and forms part of a key route for heavy traffic between northern and southern Germany. The name refers to an old tributary of the Southern Elbe that once ran through this area.
Cyclists and mopeds are not allowed on the bridge. Pedestrians may cross only on exceptional occasions: the 1999 anniversary and, since 2011, the annual Köhlbrand bridge run on 3 October, a 12.3 km course over the bridge and back. The bridge is not signposted in Hamburg; drivers reach it via the A7 Waltershof exit, and bus line 151 links Wilhelmsburg and Finkenwerder.
The structure features special expansion joints on the eastern ramp that absorb material movement and prevent cracks in the concrete. These joints can expand or contract by up to three-quarters of a meter over time.
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