Bridge built in record time after 2021 floodwaters

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.