Replacement of the Tegel Bridge
Symbolic cutting of the first sod for the start of construction
On 2 December 2021, construction on the Tegel Bridge began with the festive cutting of the first sod in the presence of a crowd of interested parties and those involved in the construction. The welcome speech of this ceremony was given by Prof. Dr. Ing. Hans-Heinrich Witte, chairman of the Generaldirektion Wasserstraßen und Schifffahrt. Other speakers were: Mr Enak Ferlemann as Parliamentary Secretary of State to the Federal Minister for Digital and Transport, Mr Ingmar Streese as Secretary of State to the Berlin Senate Department for the Environment, Urban Mobility and Climate Action, Mr Joachim Puls as Managing Director of ViaStructure GmbH and Mr Rolf Dietrich as Head of the Berlin Waterways Construction Office (Wasserstraßen-Neubauamt).
At the present moment, traffic is using the temporary bypass, which was opened to traffic in calendar week 47 on time and according to schedule. A major component of the temporary bypass is a temporary bridge (Schaper-Krupp-Brücke), which is designed as a three-span continuous beam with spans of 21.35 m + 33.55 m + 27.45 m = 82.35 m and crosses the Berlin-Spandau shipping canal right beside the existing structure. Due to the tight schedule for the completion of the new bridge, including improved routing and widening to 4 m of the Berlin–Copenhagen long-distance cycle path by the end of 2023, no time was wasted and the demolition work on the existing bridge begun without delay.
To date, the collaboration by planners, operators and management in the construction of the temporary bypass has been very positive, despite the complex conditions of inner-city construction. This encouraged the speakers to assume that the next construction phases will also be completed on time and within budget.