BIM pilot project Auenbach viaduct - Innovative design methods in bridge construction

Auenbach viaduct was chosen by the German Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI) as the first of four pilot projects for the implementation of design and construction processes with the aid of the Building Information Modelling (BIM) method. In the course of the preliminary design phase this project's existing designs were to be subjected to an extended economic feasibility study. The structure leads the Federal Highway B 107 across the Auenbach valley, a service road and several tracks on the Dresden-Werdau railway line. Originally the structure was intended to span the entire valley with a total length of about 273 m. During the overall optimisation of the alignment in position and elevation the structure was separated into two single structures linked by an intermediate embankment. In the frame of the pilot project a coordinated complete model was prepared. The aim was to integrate all the project planning models for engineering structures as well as the models of the specialist planners for traffic facilities, subsoil and environment in accordance with the design status in each case. The results of this service phase were provided to the further BIM processes as an object-based, coordinated 3-D complete model. By means of a model-based time schedule it was then possible to perform a complex analysis of the model data (e.g. quantities, costs, deadlines, collision detection, etc) and carry out optimisations. The objective of the intended continuation of the pilot project is the automated, model-based elaboration of the final design and tender for the structure. With the digitalization of construction the design and implementation process is undergoing a fundamental methodological transformation. From the standpoint of the owner DEGES and the project planner OBERMEYER the effects expected as a result of establishing the BIM method should be investigated, checked and assessed.