Guido-Westerwelle-Brücke, Road bridge over railway tracks in Bonn, Germany
The Guido-Westerwelle-Brücke is a steel road bridge west of Bonn's main station, carrying traffic over five Rhine-line tracks, two Stadtbahn tracks and Thomastraße. It links the Hochstadenring/Bornheimer Straße junction in the north with Wittelsbacherring/Endenicher Straße in the south. The deck is a flat concrete slab with metal railings, resting on dark blue-green steel girders and thick concrete piers.
The first Viktoriabrücke opened on 15 April 1905 as Bonn's first grade-separated crossing of the busy Cologne–Koblenz railway. Allied bombers badly damaged it on the night of 28–29 December 1944 and it collapsed; the replacement opened on 22 December 1949 after five months of construction. Because of structural damage found in 2006, it was rebuilt from June 2016, and the bridge was renamed Guido-Westerwelle-Brücke on 10 April 2024.
The bridge's name changed from Viktoriabrücke, after Empress Victoria, to Guido-Westerwelle-Brücke on 10 April 2024, following a district council decision in October 2023 honouring the former foreign minister and Bonn resident. The painter August Macke, who lived on Bornheimer Straße, depicted the earlier Viktoriabrücke in 22 works between 1911 and 1914.
The bridge links Hochstadenring/Bornheimer Straße in the north with Wittelsbacherring/Endenicher Straße in the south, crossing five Rheinstrecke tracks, two Stadtbahn tracks and Thomastraße. Since reopening in April 2022 it carries one car lane and one bike lane per direction, a layout that may still change. Pedestrians use the raised walkways at the deck edges.
The bridge's name honours Guido Westerwelle, the former German foreign minister and FDP leader from Bonn; the district council decided on the renaming in October 2023 and it took effect on 10 April 2024, replacing the name Viktoriabrücke, which referred to Empress Victoria.
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