Bendorfer Brücke, Prestressed concrete highway bridge in Koblenz, Germany

The Bendorfer Brücke carries the A48 autobahn across the Rhine between Koblenz and Bendorf. Its 1,029 m length is split into a 524.5 m river bridge and a 505 m eastern approach, with two separate hollow-box superstructures on 16 piers. The main span over the navigation channel is 208 m, and the box depth tapers from 10.45 m at the river piers to 4.4 m at midspan.

The bridge was designed by Ulrich Finsterwalder in the 1960s and completed in 1965. Its construction used a novel method that required no scaffolding in the water, which was revolutionary for the time.

The bridge carries the A48 between Koblenz and Bendorf and, unusually for a motorway bridge, has a foot and cycle path on its north side, added at the express wish of the neighbouring municipalities. It crosses both arms of the Rhine and the northern tip of Graswerth island, which belongs to Niederwerth. With over 60,000 vehicles a day it is one of the busiest crossings in the Koblenz region after the Europabrücke.

The bridge is used daily by thousands of vehicles and is safest to view from the pedestrian path or a nearby vantage point along the riverbanks. Good views of the structure can be enjoyed from both sides of the Rhine.

Upon completion, the main span was among the longest for prestressed concrete bridges worldwide. The slender form was made possible because the concrete supports could be designed extremely thin, barely affecting the river.