Reconstruction of the Kaisersteg bridge across the river Spree in Berlin

The historic Kaisersteg was erected in 1898 as a three-span, very delicate combined arch-/suspension bridge with 2 main pillars and a length of 172 m. The bridge was used by the employees of AEG as a direct connection from the Schoneweide train station to the cable factory Kabelwerk Oberspree. Towards the end of World War II the bridge was destroyed by the Waffen-SS and never re-erected after the war As part of a rebuilding program for the urban area of Schoneweide, plans were made for a replacement construction of the Kaisersteg bridge. To meet the requirements of the navigability of the river Spree, the piers of the new bridge needed to be placed outside the navigable waterway of 75 00 x 5,25 m. In addition the eccentric position of the waterway had to be considered. These circumstances asked for a solution with only one pier in the river differing from the historic bridge construction with two main piers. The construction was therefore designed as a two-span cable-stayed bridge with spans of 48,3 m-92,0 m and the about 30 m high pylon. After two years of construction time the Kaisersteg was opened as a pedestrian bridge in September 2007. The following essay describes the detailed design, realisation and construction of the Kaisersteg.