Hochstraße Elbmarsch, Highway bridge in Wilhelmsburg district, Hamburg, Germany
The Hochstraße Elbmarsch is a highway bridge in Hamburg's Wilhelmsburg district that spans approximately 4 kilometers across the Elbe marshlands. It carries traffic from the federal motorway and a regional road, forming a vital link between different parts of the city.
The bridge opened in 1974 as a response to growing traffic needs in Hamburg during a period of economic expansion. It significantly changed the infrastructure of the eastern port area and enabled better connections for the surrounding district.
The bridge's name refers to the Elbmarsch marshland it crosses, south of the Neuer Elbtunnel. Its roughly 1,000 longitudinal girders, each about 110 tonnes, were cast in a temporary field factory and placed with a purpose-built launching device; around 40 girders were finished per month, one per day.
The bridge is a major traffic artery used by thousands of vehicles daily and can be quite busy. Visitors should expect crossing times to be lengthy during peak hours, particularly during morning and evening commute times.
The roughly 1,000 longitudinal girders were precast in a field factory, each weighing about 110 tonnes, and one girder was finished per day, about 40 per month. A purpose-built launching rig placed them on the cross beams. The widening from 2020 to 2026 added a lane per direction in the gap between the carriageways, leaving about two metres between them.
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