New bridge at Dresdner Platz partially open to traffic
Today, Monday, the newly built bridge at Dresdner Platz was partially opened to traffic. In the presence of Lord Mayor Barbara Ludwig and the head of the City of Chemnitz's Civil Engineering Department, Bernd Gregorzyk, traffic was diverted from the temporary bypass to the original Waisenstraße.
Mayor Barbara Ludwig: "Today's partial approval marks the start of the final spurt for one of the city's largest construction projects. It is good to see that this important arterial road is once again available to the people of Chemnitz. And that the bridge between Sonnenberg and the city centre has literally been rebuilt. My thanks and great respect go to everyone involved in the construction work. Despite the enormous size and complexity of the project, the planning is being implemented with pinpoint accuracy."
With the partial opening, one lane is now available out of town and two lanes in the city centre. The traffic situation has not fundamentally changed compared to the temporary bypass that has been in operation since summer 2010. Pedestrians will be guided from Bahnhofstrasse to Dresdner Platz via the newly constructed southern pavement of Waisenstrasse.
Once the traffic has been rerouted, work can begin on dismantling the temporary bridge and removing the temporary road. At the same time, the new bridge replacement will be completed and finalised.
The last of a total of 68 prefabricated composite girders for the future bridge at Dresdner Platz was laid in mid-December 2012. Completion of the bridge, which is divided into nine separate bridge segments, began in January 2013, but had to be temporarily interrupted due to adverse weather conditions and frost. The suspended work was then completed this spring. Waterproofing work and formwork for the bridge caps are currently still being carried out.
At the beginning of 2013, civil engineering work and pipe laying began in the Waisenstraße area. A cycle path and a footpath have been constructed along the out-of-town carriageway on Bahnhofstrasse.
The bridge at Dresdner Platz has to be rebuilt as its poor structural condition does not allow for renovation. The entire construction project is scheduled for completion at the end of 2013 and is expected to cost around €24.8 million in total.
The contracted construction companies are Hentschke Bau GmbH and STRABAG AG.
The new bridge construction is part of the ongoing measures to upgrade Chemnitz Central Station and the area surrounding the station. In particular, the Chemnitz model will create a modern transport hub that links the railway, tram and private transport. At the moment, the entire street space and the pavement areas in the Bahnhofstraße/Georgstraße area are being redesigned and the track systems for the entrance to the main station building in Bahnhofstraße are being realised at the same time.