Wiehltal bridge, Steel road bridge in Oberbergischer Kreis, Germany
The Wiehltal Bridge is a steel structure that spans a forested valley with traffic flowing along its slender, elevated pathway. Heavy steel girders support the roadway as it stretches across the considerable distance and height of the crossing.
Completed in 1971, the bridge carries the A4 motorway over the Wiehltal valley between Cologne and Olpe. On 26 August 2004 a tanker truck carrying 32,000 litres of fuel broke through the guard rails and fell from the bridge, killing the driver. The fire left the structure unable to bear loads, and after a 600-square-metre section was replaced it fully reopened on 18 October 2007.
The bridge location within Naturpark Bergisches Land provides access to regional hiking trails that connect local communities through the natural landscape.
The bridge is accessible via the A4 motorway and features safety railings and marked lanes on the roadway. Visitors can view and photograph the structure and the landscape below from adjacent roads and hiking trails in the surrounding area.
The 2004 repair was unprecedented: a 600-square-metre section of the steel deck was cut out and replaced with a new steel structure, a job of that size never done before anywhere. Around 10,000 tonnes of fuel-soaked soil were also excavated. The bridge reopened fully on 18 October 2007.
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