Beatus Rhenanus Bridge, International arch and tram bridge between Kehl, Germany and Strasbourg, France.
The Beatus Rhenanus Bridge is a steel arch and tram bridge crossing the Rhine River between Kehl and Strasbourg, with two separate decks each supported by a tall central pier. The structure accommodates different types of traffic on parallel sections.
On 20 December 2012 a German-French jury chose the Bouygues and Früh Ingenieurbau design, rejecting a rebuild of the neighbouring road bridge as too costly and single-track. Work began in April 2014; two 145-metre decks prefabricated in Belgium were floated up the Rhine and assembled on the Kehl customs yard. The second deck was set on the river pier on 18 December 2015, rails followed in April 2016, and the first tram crossed on 3 February 2017.
The bridge is named after Beatus Rhenanus, the Alsatian humanist from Sélestat; the mayors of Strasbourg and Kehl, Roland Ries and Toni Vetrano, unveiled the name plaque together on 28 April 2017. The name was proposed by both city administrations and approved by the Kehl municipal council on 5 April 2017.
Tram line D from Strasbourg Transport operates regularly across the bridge, connecting the city centers on both sides. Pedestrians and cyclists can also use the spacious walking and cycling paths that run independently from the tram line.
The two 145-metre deck sections were prefabricated in Belgium, shipped up the Rhine and assembled on the former customs yard on the German bank. To slide the second section onto the central pier on 18 December 2015, the river level had to be raised using an upstream weir.
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