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Ariane 6 launch facility, French Guyana

Donges SteelTec GmbH makes significant contribution to the new Ariane launch facility at the spaceport in Kourou / French Guyana

Darmstadt/Kourou, 18 October 2021

A dedicated launch facility is being built for the latest generation of ESA’s “Ariane 6” launcher at the spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. At the heart of the new launch facility are the launch table, from which the rocket will start, and a supply mast, which will be used to supply the rocket with various media prior to launch.

Both structures are heavy steel constructions, i.e. structures that Donges SteelTec specialises in manufacturing, supplying and assembling.

The launch table is designed as a hollow steel box construction with dimensions of 20.00 m x 18.00 m x 3.80 m. A total of 740 t of steel were used here. The supply mast is square in ground plan with side dimensions of 6.50 m. With an overall height of 60.00 m, the 400 t mast is visible from afar on the launch pad in the sky above Kourou.

All steel components for the launch table and mast were manufactured at the Donges SteelTec GmbH plant in Darmstadt and then transported by sea from Amsterdam to Kourou. After a construction period of almost 3 ½ years, the assembly activities have now also been successfully completed. Now the structures have been handed over to the CNES (Centre National d’ Etudes Spatiales = National Centre for Space Research). The launch of the first Ariane 6 launcher is planned for next year.

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School Centre in Munich

First lattice girders lifted into place at the new Bayernkaserne school centre in Munich

Darmstadt/München, June 30th, 2021. On the site of the former Bavaria Barracks in Munich, a new school centre is being built on an area of 25,800 m² with a grammar school, a primary school, sports halls, a refectory, an underground carpark, a swimming pool and sports facilities.

Construction work has been underway since last year, and now the first 4 steel trusses (L/H/W: 28.50 x 4.78 x 0.60 m) with a lifting weight of 88.9 t each have been lifted into place above the primary school sports hall. The heavy, oversized steel structures were manufactured in our factory in Darmstadt and then transported to the construction site in Munich with a special heavy-duty vehicle. On site, the Donges assembly team, with its many years of experience and know-how, ensured that the steel colossi could be lifted into place with precision using a crawler crane. The lattice girders were then prestressed using a strand tensioning system and are now gradually being relieved again as the solid construction progresses.

In total, Donges SteelTec has been commissioned with the manufacture, delivery and assembly of 11 truss girders, 9 composite girders and 3 box girders as part of the new school construction project, as well as the provision of the auxiliary assembly structure.

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German Architecture Prize 2021

Since 2011, the Federal Ministry of Construction and the Federal Chamber of Architects have awarded the German Architecture Prize. The procedure is carried out by the Federal Office for Building and Regional Planning.

The German Architecture Prize is awarded to buildings that are exemplary for the development of contemporary building. They must be of special architectural quality or bear witness to exemplary treatment in the renovation and modernisation of historical buildings, to sustainable building in ecological, economic and social terms, and contribute positively to the design of the public space.

In the context of this year’s German Architecture Award, the jury awarded recognition for the design of the public space to the footpath and cycle path bridge over the Rheinstraße in Darmstadt.

We are pleased about the public recognition and are proud to have played a major role in the realisation of the “Red Bridge”. 

 

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Thulba Viaduct – First shifting

First steel component of the 7-span Thulba viaduct shifted.

Darmstadt/Oberthulba, June 2021. Last weekend, the first longitudinal shifting of the steel superstructure for the new Thulba viaduct took place. The steel colossus was moved 66 m. However, the high summer temperatures on Friday not only caused problems for our assembly team, but also for the steel structure. This resulted in deformations of the steel component due to uneven heating. However, our experienced fitters quickly found a solution to this unforeseen challenge, so that the final position of the bridge section was reached on schedule on Saturday morning.

The replacement of the Thulba viaduct is a steel composite bridge with two superstructures, which crosses the A7 between Würzburg and Fulda in the Bad Kissingen/Oberthulba section. The bridge has a total length of 460 m each and runs up to 53 m above the valley. The steel structure tonnage totals 6,000 tonnes.

 

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Pedestrian and Bicycle Bridge Rheinstraße, Darmstadt

With the red bridge over the Rheinstraße Donges SteelTec sets an imprressive new accent on urban development in Darmstadt

The new bridge over Darmstadt’s most important access road provides an important new pedestrian and cycle link between the Europaviertel with the main railway station and the new Rhein-Main telecommunications centre.

The aim was to preserve the tree population as far as possible. For this reason, the bridge swings over the Rheinstraße and playfully winds its way between the trees with its long ramps.

The bridge consists of a steel construction made in our factory in Darmstadt, it is 318 metres long and three metres wide. 370 tonnes of steel go into the structure, which rests on V-shaped supports.

While it is finished in steel grey on the outside, the stairs, access road and zebra crossing are designed in bright red. LED lighting is fully integrated into the handrails. In the evening and night hours, it illuminates the entire course of the bridge and the red interior colour begins to shine.

After the construction of the Dornheimer Weg Bridge in 1910 and its renovation in 2002, we are proud to have once again set an urban accent in Darmstadt with the new bridge over the Rheinstraße.

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A3 Steigerwald Motorway

Two new Steigerwald motorway bridges in just one night

During the last operation, it was only one bridge, this time we increased the operation and installed two steel hollow box girders for the country road bridges over the A3 near Erlangen in only one night.

For this, the section between Heßdorf and Höchstadt an der Aisch was completely closed for 14 hours.

In order to keep the closure of the motorway as short as possible, two different pre-assembly sites with wide access to the motorway had been set up beforehand. Here, the 4 bridge parts prefabricated in our factory in Darmstadt were welded together to form the two 260 and 380 tonne and 70 meter long steel colossi.

In order to transport the two bridges in their full size to the actual construction site, a complicated and unusual technique was required. Two self-propelled heavy-duty transport modules (SPMT) were used for this purpose. They brought the bridge constructions at walking pace over the closed motorway to the places where they were set down free-floating, centimetre by centimetre, at their destination.

The 70 km long motorway section in the Steigerwald between Würzburg and Erlangen will be renewed by 2025. Another 19 steel composite bridges will be installed in the same way.

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A6 Grumbachtal Bridge

Successfully connected! “Bridge closure” for the 1st construction phase of the Grumbachtal Bridge.

Darmstadt/St. Ingbert

In mid-February, the last two components, the so-called “bridge closure”, for the 1st construction phase of the Grumbachtal Bridge were successfully assembled.

Even before that, there had been a lot to marvel at in St. Ingbert when the first six bridge components were lifted into place. With the help of a caterpillar crane specially set up for the lifting operation, our assembly team managed to lift the huge steel structures into their final position in a very confined space.

Now the lifting oft he last two mighty bridge sections, each with a length of around 22 metres and a weight of up to 60 tonnes, was once again spectacular. For the crane’s crossing, which was only allowed to take place at night, the traffic over the bridge had to be slowed down for a short time and for the actual lifting, the motorway in the direction of Saarbrücken was even completely closed for several hours, as the components were unloaded on the motorway, turned and then lifted into their final position.

On Sunday, 15 February, the time had come and the first construction phase could be completed precisely and on schedule. The fact that this went so smoothly is largely due to the precise planning work of the responsible assembly engineer and our well-rehearsed, experienced assembly team on site. The components are now being welded together.

At the end of March, our assembly team will leave the construction site as planned and will not return until the second construction phase can probably be assembled in 2022.

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A3 Steigerwald Motorway

Installation of the first Steigerwald freeway bridge in just one night

Darmstadt, 29.11.2020. Our assembly engineers only had one night to install the 260-ton highway bridge over the A3. For this purpose, the A3 was completely closed off between Schlüsselfeld and Höchstadt-Nord.

The preparations had already begun weeks earlier with the installation of a pre-assembly area on a former freeway parking lot shortly before the Schlüsselfeld exit. There the four steel bridge sections manufactured at our plant in Darmstadt were first welded together to form a 70 meter long and 260 ton bridge structure.

Two self-propelled modular transporters (SPMT) transported the bridge structure at walking speed over the closed highway to the construction site two kilometers away, where it was then placed in the bridge bearings, centimeter by centimeter, free-floating.

By 2024, a further 21 steel composite bridges will be installed over the Steigerwald motorway.

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Urft Valley-Bridges

Three new superstructures for the railroad line in the Urft Valley

On November 20, 2019, Donges SteelTec was awarded the contract for the design, manufacture and erection of three steel superstructures for the railroad line in the Urft Valley in the Eifel region. One year later, the assembly of the steel structures has now been completed and the overpasses have been opened to rail traffic. The structures are located near the villages of Sötenich and Nettersheim and transfer the railroad line 2631 over the Urft.

They are each trough structures with orthotropic roadway slabs, which are designed as single-span girders. The spans of the three structures range from 15.70 m to 23.40 m. The largest superstructure has a net weight of 107 tons.

All three superstructures were manufactured in our factory in Darmstadt and transported to the construction site by heavy goods vehicle. Within three days, the superstructures were lifted into their final position with a mobile crane. After the sidewalks had been added and finishing work had been carried out, the track is now in operation again.

The many years of experience and the expert knowledge of our bridge construction engineers made it possible to complete the three structures on time and to the highest quality standards. Donges SteelTec thus successfully continues the construction of railroad bridges and makes an important contribution to the maintenance and expansion of the railroad infrastructure in Germany.

 

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A6 Grumbachtal Bridge

Precise lifting of heavy steel bridge components

Darmstadt/St. Ingbert

After the start of the steel construction assembly on September 24th, 10 segments of the Grumbachtal bridge have now been assembled. The individual steel components with weights of up to 140 tons were manufactured at our headquarters in Darmstadt to the highest quality standards and delivered to St. Ingbert by heavy-duty transporters.

Massive mobile cranes with a maximum load capacity of 500 tons lifted the heavy steel bridge segments precisely onto their piers. Following the lifting assembly, the individual sections were welded together.

In the coming weeks, further parts of the steel structure (in total 4800 tons) will be delivered and installed, so that the superstructure will arrive at the second abutment before Christmas. Erection of the last two shots is scheduled for early 2021.

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