The railroad bridge across the river Oder between Küstrin-Kietz on the German side and Kostrzyn in Poland represents a border-crossing symbol of Europe. Built in 1926, the bridge had to be replaced due to its poor structural condition. The design concept for the new bridge emerged from a competition won by Knight Architects and Schüßler-Plan with their winning design: a “shining white, elegant network arch connecting Poland and Germany on the same level.”
A filigree network arch spans the river and blends into the bridge layout with shaped cross-section transitions at the foot of the arch. On the Polish side, a continuous three-span foreland bridge is connected.
The structural design of the bridge is based on the design concept proposed by the winner of the competition. However, the technically optimized alternative solution for the superstructure developed by sbp uses a hanger net made of carbon tensile elements. Track, foundations and substructure were designed by Schüßler-Plan.
The structure is considered to be the world’s first and so far only railroad bridge using the high-performance material carbon for significant load-bearing elements. Therefore, the technical basics for feasibility were established within the framework of a comprehensive expert procedure accompanied by specialists in order to obtain approval in individual cases.
