The so-called “Drahtbrücke” (wire bridge) in Kassel has a long and turbulent history. In 1870 the ferry was replaced by a suspension bridge connecting the old part of the town with the lower new part. After the destruction and the reconstruction in 1940 the city council decided on the complete renovation of the superstructure including the cables. The new design respectively the renovation of the bridge had to meet certain strict requirements: adoption of the main geometry, adoption of the concrete pylons (founded on wooden piles), adoption of the elongated abutments (ballast foundations), replacement of the entire cable structure, replacement of the superstructure with preservation of the historical truss, steel trussed girder, prefabricated concrete slab, transfer of the anchorage for the suspension cable to the upper part of the abutment, concreting the cavities of the abutments.
