An edifice through the ages
84 is an impressive age for people, and it's no different for bridges. In 1934 no-one probably thought that the construction would survive for so long. The Rethe lift bridge experienced a lot over the years. In the 1980s it even grew when the lifting height was raised by 11 metres to accommodate the increasingly large ships. In order to make room for even bigger ships, it has now been replaced by the new, wider Rethe bascule bridge. Find out everything about the old and new Rethe bridges in our fascinating film!
The new Rethe bridge is the biggest and most modern double bascule bridge in Europe. Having already been used by cars since July 2016, it was fully completed at the end of 2017 and approved for use by railway traffic as well. The bridge serves as the main road connection to/from the south in the direction of the A1 and as a second crossing of the Southern Elbe in the direction of the A7. Approximately 7,000 vehicles cross the bridge every day to reach their destinations. Long waiting times are avoided by decoupling road and rail traffic. The new bridge also contributes considerably to the water as well: with its greater clearance width and unlimited clearance height it will provide enough room for even really big ships as soon as the old bridge has been removed. Incidentally, the HPA itself is undertaking the disassembly and plans to complete the project in the summer of 2019. See how the impressive new structure was created.
