Nibelungen Bridge (Regensburg)

The Nibelungen Bridge (German: Nibelungenbrücke) is a dual road bridge with two sections spanning both arms of the Danube at kilometre mark 2378.39 in Regensburg, Germany. The current bridge, the third on the site, was erected in 2001–04 to replace a bridge erected in 1950 which was no longer adequate for traffic demands, and which had replaced a bridge built in 1938 and destroyed in World War II. Carrying an average of 42,000 vehicles a day, it is one of the most important bridges in the Regensburg area.

The 2004 Nibelungen Bridge has 6 lanes, two of them reserved exclusively for buses and taxis. It currently forms part of highways B8 and B15. With the Pfaffenstein Bridge and the Schwabelweis Bridge, it is one of only three Danube bridges without load restrictions. The bridge is also important in plans for tram service in Regensburg, as part of the "service axis". As another traffic improvement measure, before the bridge was rebuilt, the streets leading to it at each end were widened. Continuation of this street widening and construction of another bridge over the River Regen are planned, but are unlikely to occur soon.

The bridge consists of two sections of similar design over the two arms of the Danube on either side of the Lower Wöhrd, one of the two islands within the city. The southern bridge has a total span length of 168.9 m and also crosses a port railway line. The northern bridge is 206.9 m long. Both are continuous beam construction with three longitudinal sections and a primary span width of 90 m. On the south bridge, the two edge spans are each 39.45 m wide; on the north bridge, 58.45 m. Each bridge section has dual superstructures of 15.4 m width and 3.2 m constant height with a single-cell box girder of composite construction and a diagonally braced cantilevered concrete deck.

Plans to supplement the Stone Bridge, at that time the only bridge across the Danube at Regensburg, with a new bridge go back to the late 19th century. The Stone Bridge was already overloaded by increased use (both city traffic and through traffic on two Imperial highways) but for unknown reasons the city hesitated. Meanwhile, several smaller bridges were built between the south bank of the river and the two islands (Upper and Lower Wöhrd) which lie within the city, but no additional bridge spanning the entire river. In 1926 a pontoon bridge was built between the Lower Wöhrd and the neighbourhood of Weichs, on the site of the north span of the Nibelungen Bridge. However, this alleviated the traffic problems only slightly because it could not be used by heavy vehicles.

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