Bridge built in record time after 2021 floodwaters

• Name

  New bridge building in record time in flood-affected areas

• Country

  Germany, 2022

• Fields of Expertise

  Bridge

• Categories

  Floor Coatings

• Products

  MC-DUR LF 680

In the western regions of Germany affected by the flood disaster, reconstruction of the transport infrastructure was a high priority. In mid-August 2021, the roads and transport agency of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, “Straßen NRW”, commissioned the company Gebr. Echterhoff with the reconstruction of two destroyed bridge structures, the Lommersum Bridge in Weilerswist and a cycle path bridge near Blankenheim, where repairs were no longer possible. It was important to those responsible to remedy the traffic disruptions as quickly as possible and, in particular, to complete the new bridges before Christmas.

New bridges opened within four months

The planning and approval work for both new bridge projects began in mid-August 2021. Thanks to the Echterhoff Express Bridge System, in which fully prestressed, precast concrete elements are manufactured off-site for on-site assembly as building blocks, the new bridges were successfully completed and released for use by December 2021.

Bridge waterproofing in the depths of winter

Echterhoff commissioned the company KEMNA BAU Andreae GmbH & Co. KG – ZN Sonderbau West with the waterproofing and mastic asphalt work, which had to be carried out in December 2021 at temperatures below 8 °C and in the presence of high air humidity and component moisture levels. Since the epoxy resin products usually specified for such work cannot be used in such adverse weather conditions without adverse side reactions, the special-purpose resin MC-DUR LF 680 was selected for the waterproofing work, with the public authority client, the Federal Highway Research Institute, and MC working in close collaboration. The MC resin can be used as a primer, scratch filler and sealer at temperatures as low as 2 °C and, above all, under conditions of high air humidity and component moisture. The translucent red resin cures very quickly and is resistant to high temperatures, making it ideal for use in conjunction with welding membranes. At 20 °C and a relative humidity of 50 %, MC-DUR LF 680 has an overworking time of one hour, while at 2 °C it is approx. two and a half hours, which means that sealing and waterproofing work can also be performed in autumn and winter.

Huge time savings

The waterproofing work on the new Lommersum bridge in Weilerswist took place on 8 December 2021, with the previously shot-blasted and cleaned surface area of approximately 300 m² being covered in just one day. The situation was similar on the new cycle path bridge over the River Ahrbach in Blankenheim. Here, under the most difficult of conditions, an area of around 60 m² was completely waterproofed from start to finish on 15 December 2021. Both bridges were therefore ready for opening to traffic before Christmas, to the great delight of the residents and all those involved.