Urgent new bridge in Aalen: Danger of the collapse is growing!

Urgent new bridge in Aalen: Danger of the collapse is growing!

Aalen, Deutschland - The B19 Kochertal Bridge between the lower cooking and upper cooking is in a worrying state. According to a report by schwaebische-post.de Condition at risk of collapse. Timo Schneider, the district head of the traffic infrastructure, warned of the invisible damage that Birden's risk of sudden collapse.

The bridge was built in 1965 and should be used by 2027 at the latest. In the past, measures have already been taken to stabilize the structure, such as the stabilization of the coupling joints in 2017. In 2021, the bridge was also closed to heavy transports. In February 2025, a speed limit for vehicles over 3.5 tons was determined, which was limited to 60 km/h.

new construction of the bridge necessary

Using a feasibility study, two alternative locations for the new building of the bridge were identified, the west and east variant. The new building is classified as without an alternative because the current state of the bridge is an acute danger. The new building at the existing body has the advantage that no new building law is required and that no property purchases are necessary. However, this option could go hand in hand with this option.

For the western location, 1.58 hectares of land acquisition would be necessary, which temporarily claims almost four hectares. The eastern location would require 1.32 hectares of land acquisition, but would only use 2.62 hectares of space temporarily. Property negotiations are currently underway between the cities of Aalen and Oberkochen, the results of which are expected by the end of May.

challenges in the new building

A central problem is nature conservation, since the strictly protected hazel mouse in the region has been detected. Solutions to take into account nature conservation are currently being developed by the regional council. The establishment of the new building is planned for this year, which underlines the urgency of the measures.

In the context of bridging, it shows how important regular maintenance are. vm.baden-wuerttemberg.de became. Transport Minister Winfried Hermann symbolically handed over the bridge to traffic on November 19. The bridge was redesigned on two lanes per direction with hard shoulder, while the repair measures were carried out in three construction phases. The total construction costs were around 22.4 million euros financed by the Federal Ministry of Transport.

In addition, Drees & Sommer, an expert in the field of constructive engineering construction, is highlighted. The activities focus on the sustainable renovation and minimization of the CO2 footprint of bridges. It is pointed out that the preservation of existing buildings is possible by innovative engineering services, so that these often do not have to be replaced by new buildings. The focus here is on the creation of well-founded maintenance strategies and on professional contract management in order to develop sustainable solutions .