Trucking Milestones: 1981 – a cement mixer vehicle on a hazardous mission
Series: Trucking Milestones
The early 1980s saw the construction of an imposing monument – the Gutachtal bridge – and a cement mixer vehicle from Mercedes‑Benz was at the forefront.
Almost 100 metres above the valley floor – a breezy workplace.
This job is not for the faint-hearted: two men crouch on narrow iron girders at the edge of an abyss, 97 metres above the ground. They are installing the next piece of the Gutachtal bridge in the High Black Forest – secured only by ropes. In view of these conditions, the name of the railway below, the Höllentalbahn – or in English the Hell Valley Railway – is no exaggeration.
What would normally make the hearts of mere mortals beat faster, is part of the everyday routine at this construction site. “The ’cement bombers’ arrive non-stop at an unloading ramp and are pumped dry. The slurry flows into a network of steel and iron girders,” reports the “Transport” magazine in 1981. The vehicles of choice are Mercedes‑Benz 2626 B/6x4 cement mixer vehicles. After all, reliability is of the utmost importance – particularly when the trucks are continuously manoeuvring through the difficult terrain of the construction site.
Planning for the viaduct near Titisee-Neustadt was complete by 1958,
but the actual building didn’t start until 1978. Three years later the
time had come: on 24 June 1981, as the gap was finally closed, the
highest bridge in the Black Forest was finished. The bridge is
750 metres long and 18.500 cubic metres of cement as well as
2.300 tonnes of concrete steel were used for its construction. The
maxim for Hans Wittfoht, planner and civil engineer, was that the
bridge’s appearance should meld with the landscape.
The result speaks for itself: 40 years later the monument with its eleven tall supports and majestic arches has become an integral part of the rugged landscape in the High Black Forest. Every day motorcyclists, motorists and of course drivers of Mercedes‑Benz trucks cross the bridge on the route between Freiburg and Donaueschingen. Here no one seems to have a fear of heights.
Photos: Daimler
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4 comments
Pero puentes largos con tal distancia al suelo y dando inclinación a la curva derecha no es muy común...
Solo se me viene a la cabeza uno , entre el tramo de Génova (I) y Ventimiglia (I), cada vez que lo pasaba le tenía respeto
Pero puentes largos con tal distancia al suelo y dando inclinación a la curva derecha no es muy común...
Solo se me viene a la cabeza uno , entre el tramo de Génova (I) y Ventimiglia (I), cada vez que lo pasaba le tenía respeto
Ich war oft über diese Brücke unterwegs mit dem Tieflader auf meinem Weg von Illertissen nach Freiburg.
👍👍👍👍👍⛟😎🎅
Ich war oft über diese Brücke unterwegs mit dem Tieflader auf meinem Weg von Illertissen nach Freiburg.
👍👍👍👍👍⛟😎🎅