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New SKY Line railway completes first test run

The construction work on the PTS station at Terminal 1 at Frankfurt Airport is nearing completion, meaning that the Sky Line railway, which connects Terminal 3 to Terminals 1 and 2, was able to complete its test run for the first time. The first passenger last Monday was Father Christmas.

The trains are a driverless passenger transport system that will carry more than 4,000 passengers per hour and direction. The journey time from the long-distance and regional railway station to Terminal 3 is just under eight minutes – 365 days a year.

Thanks to the two-minute frequency and a top speed of 80 km/h, even tight transfer times to connecting flights of 45 minutes will be achievable.

Donges SteelTec was commissioned with the manufacture, delivery and assembly of the complex steel structure of the PTS station. The production and assembly of the conical round supports and the cast nodes posed a particular challenge.

Assembly start of the 2nd construction phase of the Grumbach Valley Bridge near St. Ingbert

In April 2023, construction work on the 1st construction phase of the Grumbach Valley Bridge was completed and traffic was diverted to the newly constructed structure. Following the demolition of the existing structure and the construction of the first substructures, our assembly team has now set up the construction site for the assembly of the steel structure of the 2nd construction phase (substructure 1) for the Mannheim direction of travel.

In the first assembly phase, two auxiliary supports were erected over the past few weeks to store the 262-tonne steel structures. The first large components were then transported overnight from our plant in Darmstadt to the construction site in Saarland using heavy goods vehicles. There they were first turned on the ground and then lifted into their final position using two 650 tonne mobile cranes. Once the steel parts had been successfully lifted into place, the component joints were welded and then coated with corrosion protection.

A total of 22 sections and 6 cross beams for the entire substructure are assembled in this way.

Overfly structure at Nuremberg East motorway junction moved to final position

Big praise for our project management and assembly team! Last Thursday, the final shifting of the 588 m long ‘Overfly structure over the A9 motorway at the Nuremberg East junction into its final position was completed with great precision.

Now the shunting rockers can be dismantled and the stacking towers erected so that the 8600 tonne steel structure can be stacked to its final height. The yellow front fork has fulfilled its function for moving the steel superstructure including the 5 pairs of pylons standing on it using the incremental launching method and can now be dismantled.

The ‘Overfly’ construction project comprises the construction of a 6-span bridge that spans the Nuremberg East motorway junction and crosses the A6 (Heilbronn – Amberg), the A9 (Berlin – Munich), the Amberg Munich ramp (2x) and the distributor carriageway (Berlin – Amberg).

Donges SteelTec manufactured and assembled the 588 m long six-span steel composite bridge, which impressively spans the individual support spans of 115 m with a total of 5 pairs of pylons. Up to 55 stranded cables form the cables of the stay cables. 8600 tonnes of steel were required for the construction of the flyover.

The incremental launching method of the steel composite deck slab with pylon spans of 64.00 m + 4 x 115.00 m + 64.00 m = 588.00 m over flowing motorway traffic posed a particular challenge for this bridge structure.

Donges SteelTec manufactures and assembles the roof structure of the cycling center in Cologne-Müngersdorf

The ‘Radsportzentrum NRW’ is being built next to the RheinEnergieSTADION in Cologne-Müngersdorf as part of the expansion and modernisation of the Cologne cycling stadium.

Donges SteelTec was awarded the contract for the manufacture, delivery and assembly of the sophisticated self-supporting roof structure of the cycling centre.

From mid-2025, we will be manufacturing the approx. 2000 tonne steel structure for the roof of the cycling stadium at our plant in Darmstadt. Erection of the steel space frame made of round tube profiles is planned for early 2026.

The construction of the cycling stadium will also close a gap in  Cologne’s sports landscape that has existed for decades, as a playing field for basketball and volleyball is planned for the interior.

Last Friday, the company premises of Donges SteelTec GmbH in Darmstadt were a hive of activity.

Around 300 current and former employees and their families met in the company’s courtyard in the afternoon to discuss current projects and reminisce about the many successfully completed buildings in recent years. The current projects were presented during a tour of the factory halls and the heavy steel structures for the Pfaffendorf Bridge, the Lufthansa Visitors Centre and the Salzgitter Fireproof Hall were shown up close.

The works council, above all its chairman, Ercan Kaya, who had organised the event and provided the food and drink, was highly praised. After the official opening by the Managing Director, Dr Wolf Cornelius, in the early afternoon, the ‘Donges family’ celebrated carefree and with many personal conversations and memories until late in the evening.

In southern Hesse, countless young people start their apprenticeships in September, including at Donges SteelTec in Darmstadt.

On Tuesday (2 September), 8 trainees in 3 professional fields celebrated the start of their vocational training at Donges SteelTec. For years, training in our traditional company with its own steel construction production has been in great demand.

Four construction mechanics, three technical system planners and one industrial clerk are familiarised with the processes in steel construction production, the use of 3D/2D CAD programmes, the creation of workshop drawings, parts lists and NC data for the production machines as well as the commercial and business management processes of an industrial company during their three and a half years of training. Company training projects and a comprehensive training programme round off the apprenticeship.

We regularly offer trainees permanent employment contracts and are keen to be able to retain young talent within the company in the future.

“We have been building steel bridges and innovative steel structures for over 150 years. Each construction is individual and a small masterpiece. Getting young people excited about it is both a claim and a challenge for us” says Thomas Kloose, head of training in the technical office at Donges SteelTec.

Successful pylon installation on the Steigerwald motorway

Another milestone was reached on the A3 Steigerwald motorway last Wednesday: the pylons of the BW314a structure were successfully moved into position by the Donges installation team. This bridge is the twenty-first of a total of 22 planned steel structures and the first cable-stayed bridge in the project.

The pylons are technically challenging as they are inclined in two directions when viewed from above. The cross-section tapers towards the top. The pylons were assembled using two mobile cranes. Thanks to a hinged construction, the mobile cranes were then able to erect the pylons safely and precisely. There was a critical tilting moment during which the pylon swung through on the crane hook. This method made it possible to bring the pylon into a vertical position in a controlled manner and at the same time anchor it to the intended attachment points.

The bridge was planned almost exclusively with the help of 3-dimensional models, which made the construction and assembly planning much more precise.

In terms of steel construction, the BW314a structure is probably the most beautiful and challenging bridge on the Steigerwald motorway. As a cable-stayed bridge, it will attract attention above all through its architectural aesthetics.

With the successful erection of the pylons, the major project is nearing completion, at least as far as the steel construction is concerned.

The A3 Steigerwald motorway is a major infrastructure project that is of great importance for both local and national traffic.The expansion and modernisation of the route is expected to significantly improve road safety and traffic flow.

The client and the companies involved can look back with pride on the work carried out so far, which has paved the way for a modern and efficient transport artery through the Steigerwald.

Penultimate shifting cycle of the Overfly bridge over the Nuremberg East motorway junction successfully completed

The penultimate shifting cycle of the Overfly bridge structure was successfully completed by the Donges SteelTec assembly team.

The so-called extradosed bridge was moved into its final position using the incremental launching method. The steel superstructure of the bridge is prefabricated in sections at one end of the bridge on the pre-assembly site. From there, it is then moved to the opposite end of the bridge.

The incremental launching method makes it possible to avoid interfering with traffic as far as possible, as the bridge is moved across the motorway junction above the clearance of the lanes.

The Overfly bridge, including the already installed pylons and cables, is shifted in 6 cycles with a maximum shifting distance of 115 metres. The 50-metre-long stem spade bridges the free spans during the shifting process and compensates for the deflection of the bridge due to its own weight when it hits the next pier. Shifting takes two days per cycle. It takes place on special shifting rockers and is carried out with the aid of special shifting plates that allow the steel structure to slide forwards successively. This allows the shunting load that the hydraulic presses have to apply to be reduced accordingly.

The composite steel construction, which is 588 metres long in total, spans the individual support spans of 115 metres impressively with a total of 5 pairs of pylons. Up to 55 stranded cables form the cables of the stay cables. A total of approx. 8,600 tonnes of steel will be used for the 588 m long bridge.

The components of the 6th cycle will be assembled over the next few months. The final shifting will take place in autumn 2024.

Bar arch bridge for the western regional bypass in Frankfurt lifted into place with great precision.

Darmstadt, 03.06.2024. In a spectacular operation, the 1300-tonne tied-arch bridge with a span of 113 metres was installed in its final position over the railway tracks of the Frankfurt-Mannheim line at the Waldstadion in Frankfurt am Main on Friday. This makes the future route of the Regional Tangent West (RTW) clearly visible for the first time: its light rail vehicles are scheduled to run over the bridge from 2028.

The Donges SteelTec assembly team began preparations for the final assembly of the bridge on Wednesday. In order to hoist the steel colossus into position, it was first stored on two huge mobile platforms (SPMT) in the days leading up to its installation. The self-propelled modular transporters with their 288 individually steerable wheels were set in motion late on Corpus Christi evening and manoeuvred the bridge as close as possible to the tracks. A lattice boom crawler crane then took over on the opposite side of the tracks and gently lifted the steel giant over the tracks.

A total of 500 tonnes of counterweights were needed so that the crane monster could hold half the bridge load of 680 tonnes. These were brought in by 20 articulated lorries, while 70 lorry transports were needed to erect the crane. For hours on Friday morning, the bridge was suspended from the crane on one side while it was attached to the eastern abutment. At midday, the crane then lowered the striking tied-arch bridge onto the western abutment, accompanied by applause from the numerous spectators. The work seemed slow, but the time pressure was great. Deutsche Bahn had only closed the railway line between Niederrad and the airport for 24 hours.

The Donges team on site was visibly satisfied and proud of the smooth installation process. ‘On a lift like this, it’s important that everyone knows what their job is and that everyone communicates well with each other. We are an experienced and well-rehearsed team and recognise our responsibility for the safety of those involved and the structure. A big thank you to everyone who made this great engineering achievement possible,’ says the responsible Donges project manager, Aaron von der Heyden.

On Thursday, 2 May 2024, the official start of construction of the Mainflingen Main Bridge took place. Over the next 7 years, the replacement construction of the 450 metre long bridge will be realised by the consortium Adam Hörnig Baugesellschaft mbH & Co. KG and Donges SteelTec GmbH. The current bridge is a three-span tension chord construction with a span of 62.5 – 135 – 62.5 metres. It is followed by a 190 metre long foreshore bridge in prestressed concrete construction.

The federal government is investing around 192 million euros in this construction project. It is due to be opened to traffic in 2031

A 3D model of the Mainflingen Main Bridge, which was created on the basis of BIM planning, gave the guests on this day an impression of this challenging bridge construction project.