Germany – Excavating work – Aushub des Mittelteils der Freihafenelbbrücke

The subject of this tender is the planned demolition of the middle superstructure of the Freihafen-Elbbrücke by the Hamburg Port Authority (HPA). The structure, completed in 1926 and protected as a monument, carries road traffic over the Norderelbe and, as part of the Elbbrücken family, provides access to the part of Hamburg located south of the Elbe. The bridge consists of three identical single-span girders (North – Centre – South) with a span of approximately 100 m each and a width of approximately 20.8 m. The weight of a superstructure is approximately 3,300 t including superstructure loads (of which approximately 2,100 t is steel). It is a truss arch bridge that was originally a combined road and railway bridge. Due to the condition of the structure and the static recalculation, only restricted use for traffic is possible and the end of the planned useful life has been reached. Due to a ship collision with the middle superstructure, the bridge is fully closed to road traffic, pedestrians and cyclists. The passage under the middle superstructure is also closed to shipping. The closures cannot be lifted because the damage is not repairable. However, the closure of the middle passage must be lifted by early 2027 to enable the start of construction for the U4 extension. Therefore, it is necessary to remove the damaged middle superstructure earlier than originally planned. The measure includes the following contents: - Floating out the middle superstructure. - Disassembly and reuse/disposal of the superstructure, which is partially coated with hazardous substances. - Coordination with the approval authorities (Occupational Safety Authority, Bukea etc.) - Obtaining the necessary permits (water law and shipping police permit etc.) Extensive hazardous substance analyses have been carried out, the results of which can be summarised as follows: Base coat All steel components of the bridge are coated with red lead as a base coat. This red lead base coat is also present between all riveted components. The content is in the double-digit percentage range for red lead. Top coat Above the base coat, an asbestos- and PAH-containing top coat is applied to all steel components in the carriageway area up to approximately 1.50 m above the top edge of the pavement. The coating of the steel components above this also contains red lead, as well as chromium (Chromium VI) and zinc.