The Hollaenderbruecke – Economic and architecturally sophisticated design employing steel and GFRP

In the last decades there has been a remarkable discrepancy between economic footbridges and architectural design. In particular, local authorities with a limited budget prefer simple structures. Furthermore, foundations, abutments and piers are mostly erected by the main contractor dealing only with concrete. Steel and composite structures allow for ambitious designs. However, they are often considered as expensive structures entailing high maintenance costs. Consequently, most conventional footbridges are built as precast and prestressed concrete structures. In these cases, economy often prevails over aesthetics. However, as this paper demonstrates, both interests can be united by in-novative material combinations such as steel and GFRP (glass-fiber-reinforced polymers). This paper deals with newly developed pedestrian/cyclist bridges employing steel girders with GFRPdecks and the design of the new FBD300 bridge deck. It demonstrates that there need not be any contradiction between an economic structure and a sophisticated design. The ‘Hollaenderbruecke’ in Reinbek near Hamburg has a total length of 98.0m. It is the first bridge in Germany to use the innovative combination of steel and the new FBD300 deck made of GFRP.