Ahrtalbrücke, Road bridge in Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, Germany

The Ahrtalbrücke is a 1,521 m long prestressed concrete girder bridge on the A61 motorway, crossing the Ahr valley between Bad Neuenahr and Heimersheim at up to 54 m above the valley floor. Its two parallel decks rest on 6 m wide reinforced concrete pier slabs and span 22 fields, crossing the Ahr, the Ahrtalbahn, the B266 and the L80.

The two parallel superstructures were built between 1973 and 1976 at a cost of 55 million Deutsche Mark. Because no auxiliary supports were permitted between the piers, a 170 m launching girder weighing 2,000 t was used, with its main girders above the roadway. The eastern superstructure was erected first from the Koblenz abutment in eleven months, followed by the western one in eight months.

The bridge crosses the springs that supply the Apollinaris mineral water works between Bad Neuenahr and Heimersheim, a name familiar from the bottled water. Its 22 spans also pass over the Ahrtalbahn line from Remagen to Ahrbrück, the B266 and the L80, so drivers see railway, road and mineral-water terrain stacked below.

The bridge is designed to handle heavy traffic loads and undergoes regular inspections to ensure safety and durability. The structure is best viewed from surrounding roads or hiking trails in the valley below.

The bridge uses prestressed concrete technology, a specialized technique that allows larger spans to be crossed with less material. This engineering approach was a step forward for valley crossings in Germany during the 1970s.