Elbebrücke Lauenburg, Combined road and rail bridge in Lauenburg/Elbe, Germany.
The Elbebrücke Lauenburg is a 517-metre combined road and rail bridge at the south-eastern edge of Lauenburg's old town, carrying the B 209 and the Lübeck–Lüneburg line over the Elbe. Its main channel span is a two-field steel truss with two 104.61-metre openings; the approach spans are welded steel plate girders of about 53 metres. The roadway is 6 metres wide, the rail section 4 metres, and a 2.10-metre foot and cycle path runs alongside.
Construction of this steel structure started in 1951 as part of post-war infrastructure rebuilding in northern Germany. The project addressed the need to restore transportation links across the river and meet the region's growing traffic demands.
The bridge crosses the Elbe between Schleswig-Holstein and Lower Saxony on the B209 road and the Lübeck–Lüneburg railway line. Its 6-metre carriageway, one lane each way, makes it a bottleneck; since a 2008 expert report, traffic lights on the Lauenburg side stop road vehicles while freight trains pass. The crossing is maintained jointly by DB InfraGO AG and the federal government.
The bridge carries a federal road and a railway line across the river, serving as a key transportation hub for the region. Visitors can view the structure from both riverbanks or observe it from passing trains and vehicles.
The bridge deck is only 6 metres wide, 3 metres per direction, and carries a pedestrian and cycle path of 2.10 metres. After a 2008 expert report on stress from simultaneous car and freight-train traffic, a traffic light was installed on the Lauenburg side to stop vehicles while a freight train crosses.
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