122
X2
Category 2: Civil Structures
Client
Mannheim is a city in south-western Germany. With
approximately 315,000 inhabitants, Mannheim is
the second-largest city in the Bundesland of Baden-
Württemberg, following the capital city of Stuttgart. The
name of the city was first recorded as Mannenheim
in connection with a legal transaction in the year
766, surviving in a twelfth-century copy in the Codex
Laureshamensis from Lorsch Abbey. The name is
interpreted as “the home of Manno”, where Manno is
a short form of a Germanic name such as Hartmann
or Hermann. Mannheim remained a mere village
throughout the Middle Ages.
Mannheim lies on the junction of the river Neckar by the
river Rhine and it contains a lot of traffic- and pedestrian
bridges.
The Order
After the reconstruction of the Friedrich-Ebert Bridge
across the river Neckar in 2007, the Mannheim City
Government decided to improve the traffic situation and
build a barrier free connection from Neckar Bank Way to
the bridge allowing handicapped people in wheelchairs
or cyclists to get on to the bridge directly without any
help. The architectural design of the new part should
conform with the old structure.
Technical data
The connection is about 70 m long and 2.5 m wide
and it lies about 6.0% in grade. In the ground view the
structure line is half bended to get far away from the
Neckar Bank Way. It consists of the solid beam (120 m
3
of concrete, 21 t of reinforcement) based on the slim
steel columns (24 t of steel) with supporting walls at the
entry with deep injection piles foundation (altogether
about 600 m long). The bad soil conditions were
responsible for the deep piles foundation by the existing
bridge structure too.
Software and Model
Scia Engineer was used for design and optimisation.
The planned new structure was built up as a 3D model,
including the supporting walls and foundation with deep
injection piles. The appropriate loads and combination
were implemented in line with the current DIN rules.
Due to the width of 2.5 m, additional evacuation vehicle
loads had to be considered.
Calculation
Calculation of the structure was processed according to
Theory IId Order.
Dynamic calculation due to Earthquake Zone I was
considered too.
The required optimised length of the injection piles was
settled due to the piles’ reactions regarding the given
appropriate soil conditions.
Design and optimisation of the solid beam was done
with required reinforcement regarding concrete
creeping.
Execution
The planning began in February 2010.
The opening of the structure took place on 21.11.2011.
The building costs of the structure are about
600,000 euros.
Software: Scia Engineer
Barrier Free Pedestrian Connection - Mannheim, Germany
