Talbrücke Albrechtsgraben, Arch bridge near Thuringian Forest, Germany

Talbrücke Albrechtsgraben is a 770 m long arch bridge on Autobahn 71, spanning the Albrechtsgraben valley between Mäbendorf and Albrechts at a height of up to 80 m. Its single superstructure is a steel composite: an open single-cell steel trough connected by headed studs to a 28.5 m wide reinforced concrete deck slab. The parabolic reinforced concrete arch at mid-span has a span of 156.6 m and a crown height of 70 m.

The bridge was built as part of the Bundesautobahn 71, which runs through mountainous terrain. This construction project was notable for its high costs and the technical challenges involved in overcoming the difficult landscape.

The bridge is a visible landmark from the A71 and the L2630 below, and its parabolic arch was chosen partly because the structure stands out in the valley. The arch was built in four months on timber falsework supported by steel lattice towers. The name comes from the Albrechtsgraben, the valley it crosses between Mäbendorf and Albrechts.

The bridge is accessible via the A71 motorway, which crosses central Germany. Vehicles can easily use the structure as it is fully integrated into the existing road network.

The superstructure is a single-piece steel-composite deck: an open single-cell steel trough connected to a 28.5 m wide concrete roadway slab by headed shear studs, with the slab also braced by diagonal struts roughly every 5 m. The arch itself was cast in four months on falsework carried by steel truss towers.