Letzigrabenbrücke, Railway bridge in Zürich, Switzerland.
The Letzigrabenbrücke is a 1,156-metre single-track railway bridge completed in 2015 in Zürich's Vorbahnhof. It stands on 23 slender concrete piers up to 16 metres high, founded on bored piles up to 45 metres deep. The pale grey concrete deck carries railway tracks and bears the red letters "SBB" and the white letters "CFF" and "FFS"; it crosses the entire track field and the Duttweilerbrücke road bridge.
Construction of the Letzigrabenbrücke began in 2008 with the relocation of high-voltage lines; from 2009 the first of 23 piers was built, founded on bored piles up to 45 metres long. In November 2013 fine cracks were found in the concrete trough above the piers, caused by bearings set slightly inward for aesthetic reasons. The defect was repaired with prestressing cables tensioned at 220 tonnes, and the bridge opened on 26 October 2015.
The bridge carries the red SBB and white CFF and FFS lettering on its low edge wall, the three-language mark of the Swiss Federal Railways. It forms, with the 394-metre Kohlendreieckbrücke, the western exit from the underground Löwenstrasse station, and its opening on 26 October 2015 completed the Altstetten–Zürich HB–Oerlikon through line.
The multiple train tracks are visible from viewing points, showing how heavily this connection is used throughout the day. Nearby locations offer good angles to observe the bridge structure and the regular flow of trains passing through.
In November 2013, a routine inspection found fine cracks in the concrete trough above the piers: the bearings had been shifted inward for aesthetic reasons, so forces met off-axis. Six to eight tension cables per pier, each pre-stressed to 220 tonnes, were anchored across the deck to stop the base plate bending upward.
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