Following a 10-day comprehensive closure of the A40 highway between the Duisburg-Rheinhausen junction and the Duisburg interchange, the region encompassing the Rhine metropolis of Duisburg can now collectively exhale. As of 5 a.m. on November 6, 2023, traffic has resumed its course across six lanes on the A40. The successful completion of work on the first bridge deck of the new Rhine bridge in Duisburg-Neuenkamp marks the resolution of the bottleneck over the river Rhine.

The ground-breaking ceremony for the overall construction project for the 8-lane expansion of the approx. 5 km long section of the A40 between the Duisburg-Homberg and Duisburg-Neuenkamp junctions was held on the 16.12.2019 in a festive ceremony officiated by the former minister of transport Hendrik Wüst. After the contract for the entire construction project was awarded to the Hochtief / MCE consortium in October 2020, the construction of the first bridge deck of the Rhine bridge Duisburg-Neuenkamp was completed in a record-breaking construction time of mere 40 months. This was only possible thanks to the fair, collegial and always goal-oriented cooperation of all those involved, ranging from the client and the designer to the checking engineer and the construction company.

When LAP began with the preliminary design of the new Rhine crossing more than 8 years ago, it was clear from the outset, that minimizing the time required for the construction of the first bridge deck would be of key importance due to the limited service life of the existing structure. With the traffic rerouting on November 6, 2023, the project achieved its primary milestone on schedule. The inauguration of the first bridge deck marks a substantial enhancement to the traffic scenario, now featuring three lanes in each direction without no imposed weight restrictions.

A consistently engaged design team throughout all phases of the bridge’s design was indispensable in achieving the design objective. In addition to the preliminary, basic and tender design for the new Rhine crossing (in collaboration with Kocks Consult), LAP was also responsible for the detailed design and construction engineering on site. Essential parts of the detailed design (structural analysis and design drawings) were carried out in advance on behalf of the client (DEGES), so that it was largely possible to hand over the checked and approved design documents to the consortium when the construction contract was awarded.

The first deck of the new Rhine bridge can still be seen next to the existing bridge from the 1960s. It is obvious that the design team in collaboration with the architect (A. Keipke, Rostock) has created an aesthetically pleasing structure, meeting the latest technical and traffic requirements.