Rabenstein railway viaduct - funding decision received
Today, Mayor Michael Stötzer received the funding decision for the maintenance and repair of the Rabenstein railway viaduct, one of the oldest steel construction bridges in Germany, from Torsten Stankow, Head of the Municipal Road Construction Funding Department at the LASuV. The Free State of Saxony is providing the city of Chemnitz with a fixed grant totalling 1.5 million euros. The funds come from the former GDR party assets.
Mayor Michael Stötzer expressly thanked all initiators and supporters for the preservation of the Rabenstein railway viaduct and the Free State of Saxony for taking this project into account when allocating the funding.
The bridge structure currently serves as a hiking trail and is also to be upgraded as a cycle path in the future. Due to the combination of tourist use and technical monument, there is a high level of public interest in the preservation of the viaduct.
After 122 years of service, no maintenance work has yet been carried out on the structure. Only the rear west abutment ("Am weißen Stein") was renovated in 2009/2010.
Among other things, the steel framework, the pavement/cycleway surface, the east abutment and the pier base are now being renovated or newly constructed. New railings, bridge lighting and drainage will also be installed. As a special highlight - in the truest sense of the word - it is planned to illuminate the viaduct with LED spotlights in the dark.
A total of around 1.9 million euros has been budgeted for the construction project. A corresponding construction decision is currently being prepared by the civil engineering department.
History
The construction of the Rabenstein railway viaduct with a total length of 150 metres and a height of 23 metres was carried out in 1897 by the Royal Saxon State Railway Directorate and cost 91,221 Reichsmarks. A total of 308 tonnes of steel were used by hundreds of people in pure, precise manual work.
Train services had to be cancelled in 1950 as the tracks were dismantled as a war reparation.
In 1985, under the leadership of the Oberrabenstein local recreation centre, the former bridge track was covered with a concrete surface and railings and lighting were installed. This created a panoramic hiking trail from which you have a wonderful view over Chemnitz to the crest of the Ore Mountains.