The Fehmarn Sound Bridge ( German : Fehmarnsundbrücke ) connects the German island of Fehmarn in the Baltic Sea with the German mainland near Großenbrode .
12-401: The 963-metre-long (3,159 ft) crossing includes the 248-metre-long (814 ft) network arch bridge which carries road and rail over the 1,300-metre-wide (4,265 ft) Fehmarn Sound . Construction began in 1958 and the bridge was opened on April 30, 1963. The main span is 22 metres (72 ft) above the sea, which allows shipping to pass through. The bridge is constructed of steel and
24-524: A control point about 1 km (0.6 mi) away in Heinrichsruh. A Fehmarn Belt Tunnel is under construction between Denmark and Germany, with four lanes (2+2) and double track railway. But according to the agreement between the two countries, the Fehmarn Sound bridge can remain as it is, one lane per direction and a single railway track. In December 2012 a study was published saying that
36-521: A patent on tied arches with inclined hanger rods in 1926. This bridge type was then built about 60 times, primarily in Sweden. None of these bridges had crossed hangers. A drawback to the Nielsen type is that if there are dynamic loads on the bridge, the tension on some of these hangers may be reduced, even putting the hanger into compression. The network arch type, with multiple crossings, i.e. overlap in
48-461: Is 21 metres (70 ft) wide; 6 metres (20 ft) are used by Deutsche Bahn for a single rail track, part of the Lübeck–Puttgarden railway , the rest for a pedestrian walkway and two-lane roadway. The two steel arches, from which the central span is suspended by cables, are braced with steel cross-beams. The arches are 248 metres (810 ft) in length and reach 45 metres (150 ft) above
60-519: The bridge could not cope with the increased railway and road traffic expected after the tunnel opening. In 2020 it was decided to build a four lane, double track railway Fehmarn Sound Tunnel to carry most of the increased traffic. However, the bridge will still remain in place for pedestrians and local road traffic. Network arch bridge A network arch bridge is a tied arch bridge with inclined hangers that cross each other at least twice. The inclined hangers with multiple intersections make
72-400: The deck is bigger than bending in longitudinal direction. Therefore, a concrete deck that spans between the arches is a good solution for bridges with arch distances that are not too large. The concrete deck has longitudinal prestressing tendons in the arch planes. In Japan, tied arch bridges with crossing hangers are wrongly called Nielsen-Lohse bridge. Engineer Octavius F. Nielsen applied for
84-466: The horizontal axis, was developed by Per Tveit to avoid this. Lohse bridges have a tie conversely curved to the arch. The bridge deck is supported by a third structural element hanging underneath. They are named for the German engineer Hermann Lohse (1815–1893) who developed them in the late 19th century. The correct name of tied arch bridges with inclined hangers that cross each other at most once
96-625: The island of Fehmarn was discontinued. The service from Großenbrode Quay, Germany to Gedser , Denmark , crossing both Fehmarn Sound and the Fehmarn Belt , was replaced with a new service from Puttgarden (on Fehmarn) to Rødby , Denmark crossing just the Fehmarn Belt. The new bridge and ferry changes brought about a substantial time saving for both road and rail traffic along the so-called Vogelfluglinie (literally "bird flight line") from Hamburg to Copenhagen . The Fehmarn Sound bridge
108-439: The main deck of the bridge. The bridge was designed by engineers G. Fischer, T. Jahnke and P. Stein from the firm Gutehoffnungshütte Sterkrade AG , Oberhausen -Sterkrade. Architect Gerd Lohmer helped with the architectural design. In 2023 there is a renovation of the bridge. For example, all steel wires are replaced. At the same time as the opening of the bridge, changes were made to ferry services. The previous ferry service to
120-553: The network arch bridge act like a truss , with only axial compressible and tensile forces. Bending moments and shear forces are very small in network arches. The hanger arrangement is what separates network tied arch structures from other types of tied arches, such as those with vertical hangers. It is defined by the number of hangers, hanger inclination and hanger distance. A radial hanger arrangement provides an efficient structure, as shown by Benjamin Brunn and Frank Schanack in 2003. In
132-543: The radial hanger arrangement the distances between the upper hanger nodes and the angle between hangers and arch remain constant. In order to avoid too long hangers this angle may be increased towards the bridge ends. The network arch idea was developed by the Norwegian engineer Per Tveit [ no ] in the end of the 1950s. Because both the arch and the tie are mainly subject to axial forces, their cross sections can be very small. Usually, transverse bending in
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#1732780420848144-631: Was declared a historic monument in 1999 by the State Office for Protection of Historical Monuments of Schleswig-Holstein in Kiel , and has since become a symbol of both Fehmarn and Schleswig-Holstein. As the bridge was built during the Cold War , six explosive vaults were embedded below the approach road on the mainland side to be used in case of invasion. Their location is given away even today by six square asphalt patches. The vaults were connected to
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