Last year, German magazine Der Spiegel published an article about the collapse of old bridges in Germany - mostly due to heavy vehicles traffic - and the efforts made to reconstruct and modernise them. The reconstruction of the bridge "Demminer Strasse" in Neubrandenburg with ArcelorMittal beams shows that steel is an ideal bridge solution, providing a sustainable, quick and economic construction.

Composite solution for more resistant structures

To rebuild the bridge "Demminer Strasse" in Neubrandenburg, general contractor Matthäi Bauunternehmen Leezen opted for a filler beam deck solution. This kind of steel-concrete composite bridge is used for short and medium span superstructures with severe construction depth restrictions. The new two-span bridge has two separated decks for each traffic direction. It is built over railway tracks and provides further connections via the B96 road.

As ArcelorMittal Downstream Solutions successfully collaborated with Matthäi Bauunternehmen Leezen for a precedent bridge project in Schwerin, we won the contract in May 2016 and delivered H-profile wide flange beams in grade S355M with a profile depth of 900 mm each. Due to the closely spaced beams and prefabricated fibre-cement elements, which are placed on the lower flanges, no additional formwork or falsework for the concrete between the beams was needed. Thus, traffic interference below the new bridge was strongly reduced and expensive closure times for the railway line could be limited to only few nights.

Sustainable beams from Luxembourg

The 19 and 31-metre-long beams were produced by ArcelorMittal Europe – Long Products' mill in Differdange (Luxembourg). Afterwards, they were cut and welded with transversals (IPE 400 S235JR) by Downstream Solutions in Bad Oldesloe (Germany). The thermomechanical rolling process of the high quality S355M grade associated with the anti-corrosion coating applied on the beams will ensure the longevity of the structure.

The beams, like most of our steel beams used in bridge construction, were made of scrap. This once again demonstrates the sustainability of steel, which can be recycled infinitely many times while retaining its properties.

Downstream Solutions and ArcelorMittal Europe – Long Products coordinated their deliveries with the customer and Deutsche Bahn, ensuring that assembling of the beams could take place at night in July without any problems. The construction of the bridge will be completed in the first or second quarter of 2018.

Text: ArcelorMittal Europe - Flat Products

Photos: © Matthäi Bauunternehmen Leezen

In Osendorf (Germany), ArcelorMittal Europe – Long Products contributed to the construction of a composite bridge built with our Prefabricated Composite Beams (PreCoBeams), ensuring an external reinforcement for the concrete bridge. It is the first hot-dip galvanised composite dowel construction in Germany.

PreCoBeams: a competitive and sustainable solution

Due to the flood risk in the area, the new bridge required to be built without a pillar, as a single-span frame with a length of 21 metres.

PreCoBeams were an adequate solution to this requirement. It is a relatively new bridge construction method which involves heavy beams that are oxycut longitudinally in two T-sections with a specific geometry.

On the one hand, it creates the special bond with the concrete and thus substitutes the welded shear studs in standard solutions, and on the other hand, it improves the beam's fatigue performance.

This economic bridge solution has many advantages:

•     high degree of prefabrication, reducing installation time
•     reduction of coating surface
•     no need for studs or welding
•     very sustainable lifecycle and lower maintenance costs due to lifetime corrosion protection
•     high safety standard in case of vehicle (trucks) impact

All the steel used for the bridge was produced by ArcelorMittal Europe – Long Products’ mill in Differdange (Luxembourg). To create the PreCoBeams, 7 tonnes of 20-metre HD320x300 profiles in the grade S355ML were cut by our Beam Finishing Center Eurostructures. This was a great advantage for ArcelorMittal, as we were able not only to sell the HAV products, but also to take care of the finishing thanks to the experience of Eurostructures. 

One year from start to finish

The new bridge is located in Osendorf and transfers a rural road across the Elster river to a nature reserve. The bridge is 21 metres long, 4.5 metres wide with a road width of 3.50 metres. It is actually a replacement solution for the Elsterbrücke bridge as the three-span structure, built in 1950, couldn’t be reconstructed due to flood damage.

Overall, it only took one year to create and build this new solution from the first meeting in April 2016 to the opening of the bridge in the spring of 2017.

•    April 2016: first meeting with design office “SSF Ingenieure AG” for technical advisory
•    August 2016: order income
•    August - October 2016: rolling and beam finishing
•    October 2016: galvanising at subcontractor’s plant near construction site
•    Spring 2017: opening of the bridge  

Text: ArcelorMittal Europe Communications
Photos: © florian schreiber / fotografie, ArcelorMittal, ssf Ingenieure