Zschopauer Straße bridge completed ahead of schedule

The completed Zschopauer Straße bridge will be opened in a ceremony on Thursday 26 August at 1 pm. Mayor Miko Runkel will lay the last paving stone together with representatives of Deutsche Bahn AG, the State Office for Roads and Transport and the City of Chemnitz Civil Engineering Department.

Representatives of the media are cordially invited to attend.

The new bridge, which consists of two separate substructures, has a span of 23.60 metres and a usable width of 20.50 metres. 1,350 cubic metres of concrete and reinforced concrete with 150 tonnes of steel were used, and 8,000 square metres of road and 2,000 square metres of pavement were renewed.

The construction project for the new Zschopauer Straße bridge began on 4 March 2019 with the preliminary work for the canal construction by Deutsche Bahn AG. Construction work on the bridge structure for the city of Chemnitz officially began on 5 August 2019.

The bridge was completely replaced in two construction phases. Two-lane road traffic and pedestrian/cycle traffic on Zschopauer Straße were largely maintained. Short-term full closures were only necessary during the demolition of the bridge, the installation of the new bridge sections and road construction.

The landward section of the bridge was replaced first and was able to reopen in July 2020. The bridge section towards the city was then renewed.

Both the demolition of the bridge sections and the lifting of the new bridge girders with heavy crane technology posed particular challenges.

The demolition of the old bridge section on the landward side took place in October 2019, while the new bridge girders were lifted into place in March 2020. The old bridge section on the city centre side was demolished in August 2020, while the new bridge girders were lifted into place in January 2021.

All tracks on the Dresden/Werdau railway line and the Chemnitz/Aue line under the bridge structure had to be closed for the demolition work as well as for the lifting and installation of the bridge girders, so-called composite prefabricated girders (VFT girders).
Due to the scope of the work to be carried out during the track possessions, the work had to be carried out in multiple shifts and thus "around the clock", i.e. also at weekends and at night.

In addition to the replacement of the bridge, road construction measures were carried out on a section of around 550 metres along Zschopauer Straße.In addition to the replacement of the bridge, roadworks were also carried out on a section of around 550 metres along Zschopauer Straße, cycle lanes were created, the traffic lights at the Zschopauer Straße/Ritterstraße junction were renewed and four bus stops on Lutherstraße and Clara-Zetkin-Straße were made barrier-free.
At the same time, inetz dismantled a district heating line in the construction area on behalf of eins and renewed the drinking water pipeline, the electricity systems and parts of the street lighting. In addition, the mixed water pipe was re-laid before construction of the bridge began.

The bridge can go into unrestricted operation as early as 26 August 2021. Construction of the entire project was originally scheduled to end at the end of October 2021.

The total volume of the crossing project by the City of Chemnitz and DB AG amounts to 15.4 million euros. Of this amount, €8.7 million was commissioned by the City of Chemnitz for the construction of the new bridge and the road construction measures. One hundred per cent of the crossing-related costs, i.e. costs incurred by the City of Chemnitz in connection with the construction of the new bridge, and 80 per cent of the road construction are being funded by the Free State of Saxony.

Ed. Züblin AG, South-East Division from Dresden, was commissioned with the realisation of the project.

The new bridge construction is part of the construction project of Deutsche Bahn AG, the so-called "Chemnitzer Bahnbogen". The press office of Deutsche Bahn AG is available to answer any questions about this overall project.