Bridge work due to finish in November
As of late October, the city's schedule calls for bridge construction to finish by the end of November 2026, followed by road work. Wuppertal's municipal utility, WSW, also plans to complete its pipe installation along Waldeckstraße by the end of November.
The road improvements extend along all of Waldeckstraße outside the bridge area. They include a new road surface and accessibility upgrades to two bus stops and a pedestrian crossing.
The closure affects one of Wuppertal's main traffic routes. The bridge links Oberbarmen and Heckinghausen with Langerfeld in the city's east, with normal traffic volumes of about 13,200 vehicles a day.
Replacing the damaged 1959 bridge
Severe damage to the old bridge, built in 1959, had prompted a 30-metric-ton vehicle weight limit in 2011. It was demolished in July 2025 to make way for a 42-meter replacement assembled from seven prefabricated steel-composite beams. The project costs about 6.9 million euros and has an approximately 20-month construction period.
The beam installation did not go ahead as planned in early March 2026. Crews detected more ground deformation than expected beneath the heavy mobile crane, and the operation was halted for safety reasons.
The second attempt took place the week after Easter, with all seven beams lifted into position on April 9, 2026. The beams range from roughly 36 to 42 meters in length and weigh between 60 and 80 metric tons.
Foundation work and a river tunnel
To reinforce the foundations, crews added 15 large bored piles, each 1.2 meters in diameter and anchored an average of 12 meters into the rock. That reinforcement allowed the replacement bridge to dispense with the old structure's middle pier in the Wupper.
The site also incorporates the Schwelmestollen, a 2.5-kilometer tunnel carrying the Schwelme river through Wuppertal. The river empties into the Wupper through a large opening directly in the bridge's abutment, which required a new cover as part of the work.
