Munich Offenbachstrasse Cycle Bridge

Over recent years, the City of Munich has extended its cycle network to the formerly industrial margins along the city's main railway corridor. With the redevelopment of these sites into housing blocks and commercial centres, the city council has developed a cycle superhighway - a main artery running from the city centre to the western outskirts.

The Offenbachstrasse Bridge will form one of the connections to cross the many roads which pass underneath the rail corridor.

Running parallel to the tracks, the south bridge edge will be only 2m offset from the edge of the railway land and its deck soffit will be at the same height above the road as the tunnel ceiling. The entire bridge has been therefore designed as a visual extension to the portal of the adjacent tunnel.

The structural system comprises an integral steel box as the main span. The cross section is asymmetrical with a 1.5m tall box beam. This provides support to the deck and shields users from the noise of the railway corridor. The north edge of the bridge is defined by a transparent 1.3m parapet allowing open views along the Offenbachstrasse.

The city-facing edge of the bridge follows a parabolic plan curve, reducing the bridge width to a minimum at mid span and fans out towards the abutments where the east-west corridor intersects with pedestrian routes.