Leverkusen Bridge, Cable-stayed road bridge in Merkenich, Germany
The Leverkusen Bridge spans 1061 meters across the Rhine, linking Cologne with its neighbor city through steel cables and concrete piers. The structure consists of two roadway decks carried by diagonal cables.
The crossing opened on July 5, 1965, replacing a ferry service that had carried traffic across the river. Construction was part of post-war rebuilding programs and expanded the motorway network in the Rhineland.
The structure links an industrial city on the right bank with an old district on the left, two worlds once separated by the river. Today commuters cross back and forth between workplaces and residential areas.
The crossing sits on the Bundesautobahn 1 and the Cologne motorway ring, so expect heavy traffic flow. Pedestrians cannot use the structure since it serves vehicles only.
The construction combines hollow concrete boxes with steel orthotropic decks, a method that was novel in the 1960s. This technique allowed engineers to increase load capacity while reducing the self-weight.
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