During heavy floods, the existing Rhine bridge was always at high risk of flooding due to its construction height. The province of Vorarlberg wanted to put an end to this situation and commissioned a study to investigate whether raising the existing bridge or building a new bridge would be the better alternative. This study came out clearly in favour of a new construction. Thus, in autumn 2020, construction work began on a new, state-of-the-art bridge over the Rhine, which connects the two towns of Fussach and Hard in Vorarlberg. Due to the poor soil conditions, this bridge structure requires a foundation solution that not only improves the surrounding soils, but also withstands the high loads generated by such a structure. 36,500m of TRM 170 / 9.0 mm ductile piles are driven into the ground with 320 mm pile shoes on this project. They form a secure foundation for the two main piers and several smaller bridge piers in front of them. The bridge is a technically demanding, spanned 4-span steel-concrete composite structure with two closed steel box girders and piled foundations. It is not a guyed structure, as in a classic cable-stayed bridge, but a dissolved cable structure to optimise the overall stiffness in the area of the river piers. The total construction time for this project, which is being rebuilt directly next to the existing bridge, is 36 months.
Fast. Simple. Safe.
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