Maintalbrücke Veitshöchheim, Railway bridge in Würzburg, Germany.
The Maintalbrücke Veitshöchheim is a railway bridge made of prestressed concrete that crosses the Main Valley between Veitshöchheim and Margetshöchheim. It was built with a flat design and passes over several transport routes including Federal Road 27 and a railway line.
The bridge emerged from planning for the Hannover–Würzburg high-speed line: the regional planning procedure for its section was requested in August 1975, and eleven route variants around Würzburg were examined. Against the project formed the Bürgeraktion Veitshöchheim, and the Bavarian monument council feared the view from Veitshöchheim's Hofgarten would be spoiled. The originally planned height of up to 50 metres was lowered to 29 metres, and the steel arch was replaced by a flat bridge for aesthetic and noise reasons.
The bridge design changed from a high arch to a flat structure following community input, demonstrating the integration of public concerns into infrastructure planning.
The bridge carries the Hannover–Würzburg high-speed line at kilometre 322 and cannot be walked on. It is best seen from the paths and roads of the Main valley below, where the 1280-metre structure crosses the river at a maximum height of 30 metres. The crossing over the Main is at river kilometre 244.86.
The bridge's height was lowered from a planned 50 metres to 29 metres after protests, and a planned steel arch became a flat bridge for aesthetic and noise reasons. Model tests at 1:1,000 scale and weather balloons on strings showed that a low route would keep views from the Veitshöchheim Hofgarten toward the Main valley slopes unobstructed.
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