Looks can be deceiving in this pic of the week. At first glance one sees a bridge with a tower. From an oblique angle like this and directly in the sun, one can be fooled easily. However, we have two bridges. In the foreground is a 60+ year old bridge that is a concrete beam bridge. The H-shaped tower belongs to the new, replacement bridge in the background. Since the Summer 2017, work has been progressing on the replacement bridge that will feature a cable-stayed span with one tower. When completed by the end of July of this year, it will be the third bridge of its kind, which has one tower, regardless of what bridge type (cantilever truss, suspension, cable-stayed), and eighth suspension-style bridge along the Zwickau Mulde, including a small section of the Mulde going from Sermuth to Grimma. The total length will be 220 meters, 40 meters longer than its current span, and it will be 5 meters higher.
The current structure, which was built in 1954 to replace a crossing destroyed in the Great Flood, will be torn down afterwards. This bridge is located between Schlunzig and Mosel and provides key access to the Volkswagen Company, which is three kilometers away. The road serves as a backroad between Glauchau and Zwickau.
300 meter long motorway bridge over the Waiho at Franz Josef Washed Away in the Storms
FRANZ JOSEF (NEW ZEALAND)-
Less than two weeks after the mass shooting at two mosques in Christchurch, which left 50 people dead and scores injured, residents on the South Island of New Zealand are dealing with another mishap- this time by Mother Nature. Storms and high winds, producing rainfall of up to 550 mm or 10% of the yearly rainfall amount caused widespread flooding and erosion in the Franz Josef Glacier Region and putting tourism in the town of Franz Josef/Waiau, with 450 inhabitants, plus areas along the Waihou River in peril. At the time of this posting, one person was reported to have died after being swept away by floodwaters.
Many roads have been washed out and bridges damaged. But one bridge in particular, which connects Franz Josef with areas near Haast, has been washed away by floodwaters, thus leaving tourists stranded and having to look for another crossing. The Waihou Bridge at Franz Josef lost two thirds of its spans on Tuesday, as the raging river, ripped the bridge off its abutments, broke off two spans sending it down the river and left a third one hanging in the water. A video taken by a spectator shows the destruction of the bridge:
The six-span bridge was a Bailey pony truss with a total length of approximately 300 meters long. The width was no more than 6 meters, which meant only one car could cross and a speed limit of 30 kilometers/hour was enforced. It is unknown when that bridge was built, let alone how long until a replacement span is constructed. It did serve a major highway going along the West Coast of the South Island. Just minutes before the wash-out, there were people on the bridge viewing the rising waters of the Waiho River, some filmed it from the bridge before getting off. The disaster happened when no one was on the bridge.
Ironically, another key bridge, the Waihou Swinging Bridge near Franz Josef, was not affected by the floods and is still open for hikers and pedestrians. The 90-year old bridge was fabricated in England before it was shipped to New Zealand. It still is a popular attraction for tourists.
Franz Josef is 32 kilometers away from the nearest city of Whataora to the northeast. It is on the western side of the island, almost exactly opposite of Christchurch but over 450 flying kilometers away to the east.
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Twin viaducts- the shorter of the two to be rehabilitated come April. This is the half with the arch spans. Photos taken in December 2016
The western of the twin viaducts to receive a functional and cosmetic makeover to make way for the long-distance trains. Construction to commence in May.
CHEMNITZ- Following the Chemnitz Viaduct between the railway stations Chemnitz-Mitte and Chemnitz-South and the Rabenstein Viaduct in the western part of the city, there is a third major railroad viaduct that will be renovated beginning this summer. This one is in the industrial district in the northeastern part of the city.
The Chemnitztal Viaducts features not just one but two viaducts spanning the River Chemnitz, a bike trail and one of the key streets going to the industrial district, the Blankenauer Strasse. It is located near the heating plant with its signature colored smokestack that is 300 meters tall and is the tallest in Chemnitz. Opposite the river is the castle gardens. The older of the two was built from 1869 to 1871, features a total of 15 spans (6 deck truss spans measured at 25.5 meters and 9 arches at 11.8 meters each, respectively) and a total of 308 meters. The younger of the spans was built in 1899 by one of the most popular bridge builders in Germany at that time, Dyckerhoff and Widmann, features 12 arches, has a total length of 366.3 meters and is 20 meters taller than its twin. That bridge was used for freight service before being decommissioned in 1999.
The twin viaducts with the trussed girder spans of the shorter viaduct that is scheduled to be rehabilitated. Photo taken from the Chemnitzal Bike Trail.
The older of the twins is the focus of rehabilitation that will start in April. According to information by the Chemnitz Free Press, based on the project presented by the German Railways (Deutsche Bahn), the project is expected to take six months and will require the closure of the Chemnitz-Leipzig line from the end of May until the middle of September. The plan is to strengthen the arch spans and remodel them to accommodate train traffic in the future. Plans are in the making to electrify the rail line between Leipzig and Chemnitz shortly afterwards with the goal of reintroducing long-distance service between Chemnitz and Rostock via Leipzig by 2023. The catch behind this rehabilitation project is that no additional track will be laid, hence it will be a one-track viaduct where all trains will be required to cross at 80 km/h. This has mainly to do with its proximate location to the railroad freight yard on the east bank of the river near Hilbersdorf, as well as the Central Train Station, which is 1.5 kilometers from the twin viaducts. The taller of the two viaducts will remain untouched during the whole project, even though it may be the focus of a future project down the road.
Currently, only regional trains are using the viaduct as commuters travel between Leipzig and Chemnitz on a daily basis. Yet with the Bahn’s plan to have Inter-City trains travel this route, time is of the essence to have the crossing ready before the end of the year, so that electrification can begin in 2020. Commuters will have bus services between Chemnitz Central Station and Chemnitz Küchwald during the period of the entire closure of the bridge.
With three viaducts scheduled to be rehabilitated- two of them as part of projects to reintroduce Inter-City trains to Chemnitz for the first time in over two decades, the City of Chemnitz is going to have a good look at the newly restored bridges once the projects end. Residents will still get to keep their prized achitectural works while travelers will become attracted to a little bit of history as they pass through Chemnitz, one historic bridge at a time. For a city in transition to modernity, it is important to keep a little bit of its history and heritage for the guests to visit and learn about.
More on the projects will come as crews prepare to commence on the rehabilitation projects.
The Zumbrota Covered Bridge at its current location. Photo taken in October 2005
150-year old covered bridge loses roof in snow collapse. To be rebuilt pending on degree of damage.
ZUMBROTA, MINNESOTA (USA)- Record-setting February snowfall in the Midwest is starting to take its toll on its infrastructure due to the development of potholes and cracks on the roads. It is also taking its toll on the architecture, for too much snow on the rooves of houses and covered bridges- especially heavy, thick snow- can cause a roof to cave in.
Ask the people in the town of Zumbrota, located between Cannon Falls and Rochester in Goodhue County in southeastern Minnesota. Their prized centerpiece of the community of over 500 inhabitants has an uncertain future as the Zumbrota Covered Bridge partially collapsed over the weekend.
Built in 1869, the covered bridge is a Smith through truss, which is similar to a Lattice truss with diagonal beams criss-crossing each other, except its outer diagonal beams represent an end-post angled at 30°. The bridge was rehabilitated in 1932, 1950 and again in 1997, when the 120-foot long structure was moved 100 yards downstream to a park, which is situated just off Hwy. 58. It had previously crossed at Main Street. The park covers much of the eastern shore of the North Branch Zumbro River and provides people with some recreational possibilities. The structure has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1975. Even though there had been another covered bridge of its kind built for a railroad north of Zumbrota, this covered bridge is the last one in service in the state of Minnesota.
The Covered Bridge after the roof collapse. Photo taken by Mayor Bradley Drenckhahn on 24 February
As you can see in the Picture above, presented by mayor Bradley Drenckhahn, this was not what people had expected from the bridge. This was taken on the 24th, just after the roof of the covered bridge caved in, which had happened sometime overnight. Fortunately, no one was injured.
It is unclear if the center pier, built the same year the covered bridge was relocated, was affected by the collapse. The degree of the collapse will be inspected by transportation officials. The fortunate part is that the bridge is insured and town officials will rebuild the bridge once the snow has melted. The question is: just the roof or the whole structure? This is important for it could affect the upcoming events commemorating the covered bridge’s 150th birthday. According to its website, the covered bridge festival will take place on June 15th and 16th, whereas the birthday celebrations will be August 3rd and 4th. Both will take place at the park. How the collapse and the subsequent reconstruction will affect the festivities remain unknown.
A link to the covered bridge website is available and can be clicked here. The Chronicles will keep you posted on the latest on this bridge.
Transport design, transport architecture, and transport's influence on art and culture. Part travelogue, part history, all transport (but sometimes tangentially so)
