Friedrich-Ebert-Brücke, Cable-stayed road bridge over the Rhine in Bonn, Germany

The Friedrich-Ebert-Brücke is a 520.2 m steel cable-stayed bridge over the Rhine, with two 55 m welded steel pylons and 80 cables arranged in a fan pattern. Its three spans measure 120.1 m, 280 m and 120.1 m, and the 29 m orthotropic steel deck carries two carriageways of three lanes each, plus 2.75 m foot and cycle paths on both sides. With its approach viaducts it is about 1,290 m long.

Planning for a Rhine crossing near the city began in 1960–1961; the design was by engineer Hellmut Homberg, with architectural input from Heinrich Bartmann. Construction ran from August 1964 to June 1967, and the bridge opened on 28 June 1967. It was the first modern cable-stayed bridge built with a multi-cable fan system rather than a few stays. Since 3 June 2026 it has been fully closed to traffic.

The bridge is named after Friedrich Ebert, the first Reich President of the Weimar Republic, and is known locally as the Nordbrücke. Its 80 fan-arranged cables made it the first modern multi-cable cable-stayed bridge; the deck carries the A 565 motorway.

The bridge has been fully closed to all traffic since 3 June 2026, so it cannot be crossed on foot or by bike. Plan detours via Bonn's other Rhine crossings; the A565 motorway route over the bridge is interrupted.

The river span was the first modern cable-stayed bridge built with a multi-cable system, using 80 individual cables fanned out from two 55 m steel pylons instead of the few cables then customary. On 12 June 1998 a strong north-easterly wind set the cables vibrating; traffic was halted for hours while wooden blocks temporarily tied the cables together, and dampers were later fitted to each one.