Global Transport Atlas

GTA-108 Germany, France Dreilnderbrcke

Series 1 - Global Transport Notes

Germany, France bridges, cycling, pedestrians

Introduction The "Dreilnderbrcke" (3-countries bridge) is a pedestrian and cycle footbridge over the River Rhine. It links the German town of Weil am Rhein with the French town of Hunigue, and crosses the Rhine close to the Swiss border. The usable width of the 248 m. long bridge is only divided into clear pedestrian and cyclist sections at each end, where the cyclist section leads to a ramp, the pedestrian section to steps. A lift is available on the French side to take pedestrians from ground level to the level of the bridge deck., although it was not working on the day of the traffic count. The main structural members are hexagonal cross-section steel box girders. Construction costs were around Eur. 9 million. The structure has a single span of 230m, the longest span for a pedestrian/cyclist bridge in the world. The bridge continues to be the subject of many major awards. For example in March 2008 it was awarded Germanys national bridge construction prize.

Other Notes The German side of the bridge ends close to a busy shopping complex with a multistorey car park, cinema and other facilities. Presently the French side of the bridge ends in next to a small public garden and a minor residential area. The Weil am Rhein branch of the pro-cycling organisation (igvelo) has said that the bridge is very popular. They are not aware of any pedestrian/ cyclist conflicts. The busiest periods in terms of movement across the bridge are Saturdays and Sundays, although Fridays are also quite busy.
Source: Robert Bartlett

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The pedestrian lift at the French side of the bridge was reportedly not working on the day of the traffic count. (2008). In June 2012 a sign on the lift said it was closed for an undetermined period. widths (approximate) : cycle ramp pedestrian steps main deck bridge length max. span 2800 mm 2400 mm 5800 mm 248 m 230 m

Global Transport Atlas Series 1 - Global Transport Notes

The maximum height of the supporting arch above the level of the river is 26 metres.

The table below gives the results of a thumbnail traffic count on 09. May 2008 between 16.00 and 16.30. Figures are estimated hourly flows. Table 1: thumbnail traffic count, May 2008
Flows per hour pedestrians cyclists wheelchairs total To France To Germany Total 2-way 258 44 4 306 250 60 2 312 508 104 6 618

Table 2: weblinks
Topic Designer Weil am Rhein Huningue Visit also Global transport atlas http://globaltransportatlas.weebly.com/index.html Note designer Link www.feichtingerarchitectes.com

Local authority, Germany side of the bridge www.weil-am-rhein.de Local authority, French side of the bridge http://www.ville-huningue.fr/

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Global Transport Atlas Series 1 - Global Transport Notes

Cover notes and Disclaimer

This is a research document. The best efforts have been made to make sure the figures are correct. However no liability can be taken for any of the details, information or analysis in this document. The layout, look and feel of this document is copyright. Photographs are copyright of REB unless otherwise stated. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 444 Castro Street, Suite 900, Mountain View, California, 94041, USA.

GTA documents series Global Transport Atlas is a project with two aims. One is
to encourage people around the world to share examples of how they actually use transport in their daily lives. The other is to compare and improve the design of transport infrastructure. There are the following GTA document series: Series 1 - global transport notes A collection of papers on transport infrastructure and vehicles from various countries, prepared by various authors and contributors. Typical size 2 to 3 pages. Series 3 - discussion papers Papers with arguments and ideas on different aspects of modern transport and transport infrastructure. Series 7 - Dimensions of vehicles

History and Change log

First version published October 2008. There were two variations, one with and one without an embedded video clip. Version 108.02 (June 2012) - this version and version number, with modified layout and minor modifications to the content.

Transport infrastructure has to be defined with an idea of the size and types of vehicle which will use it. This series looks into the dimensions of different types of vehicle at different periods of time. Papers include technical discussion notes and example dimensions. Typical size 20 pages and more.

About the author: Robert Bartlett is an experienced transportation and urban development studies engineer with over 25 years of professional experience. Current engineering work: includes technical research in highway design standards and applications in areas such as urban planning and highway engineering. Interests include applied GIS GTA-108

Contact We welcome comments on this paper, and also on new developments in other countries in this field. Email: global.transport.atlas@gmail.com Page 3

June 2012