Cologne Rodenkirchen Bridge
Encyclopedia
The Cologne Rodenkirchen Bridge is a suspension bridge
over the Rhine located in Cologne
, Germany
. Completed in 1954, it has a main span of 378 metres. It was named after the Cologne district of Rodenkirchen
.
and the planning of Fritz Leonhardt
, for the Autobahn Cologne
-Aachen
. Today the Bundesautobahn 4 is the southern wing of the Cologne Beltway.
The bridge was destroyed due to an airstrike on 14 January 1945.
It was rebuilt from 1952 to 1954, with the old pylons re-used. The new bridge was only built from 3350 tons of steel, unlike the old bridge with 6100 tons.
Because of the increasing traffic on the bridge, in 1990 it was expanded with an equal bridge. The expansion was finished in 1995.
Suspension bridge
A suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck is hung below suspension cables on vertical suspenders. Outside Tibet and Bhutan, where the first examples of this type of bridge were built in the 15th century, this type of bridge dates from the early 19th century...
over the Rhine located in Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. Completed in 1954, it has a main span of 378 metres. It was named after the Cologne district of Rodenkirchen
Rodenkirchen
Rodenkirchen is a southern city district of Cologne in Germany. It has about 100,000 inhabitants and covers as an area of 54.56 square kilometres...
.
Planning and construction
It was built from 1938 to 1941, after the design of Paul BonatzPaul Bonatz
Paul Bonatz was a German architect, member of the Stuttgart School and professor at the technical university in that city during part of World War II and from 1954 until his death....
and the planning of Fritz Leonhardt
Fritz Leonhardt
Fritz Leonhardt was a German structural engineer who made major contributions to 20th century bridge engineering, especially in the development of cable-stayed bridges...
, for the Autobahn Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
-Aachen
Aachen
Aachen has historically been a spa town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Aachen was a favoured residence of Charlemagne, and the place of coronation of the Kings of Germany. Geographically, Aachen is the westernmost town of Germany, located along its borders with Belgium and the Netherlands, ...
. Today the Bundesautobahn 4 is the southern wing of the Cologne Beltway.
The bridge was destroyed due to an airstrike on 14 January 1945.
It was rebuilt from 1952 to 1954, with the old pylons re-used. The new bridge was only built from 3350 tons of steel, unlike the old bridge with 6100 tons.
Because of the increasing traffic on the bridge, in 1990 it was expanded with an equal bridge. The expansion was finished in 1995.