July/August 2024 - 104

cemen t con t en t o f 450 kg /m3
(28 lb/cu ft) and retarder additives to
guarantee the adequate workability
and pumpability up to six hours.
With the completion of the last pier
on the Hard side at the beginning of
April 2021, the construction of the
substructure (abutments and piers) was
successfully completed as planned.
With this critical construction phase
(substructure) finalized, the further
construction works covering the
longitudinal shifting of the steel box
girders, the concrete carriageway slab,
the stiffening of the supporting form of a
harp-shaped span with the pylons and
tensioning cables, the construction of
the edge beams, the installation of the
bridge railing, and the paving works
were
completed in November 2022. On
November 25 of that year, just 28
months after the start of construction,
the new Rhine Bridge Fussach-Hard
was entirely open to traffic.
Installation of a vertical pile
Conclusion
The new Rhine Bridge Fussach-Hard, a
state-of-the-art steel composite bridge
with a separated rope construction, was
designed to meet the new requirements
for flood protection as well as to satisfy
the increasing volume of traffic. The
construction of the new bridge began
on June 29, 2020, and was opened to
traffic on November 25, 2022. Due to the
high flood risk, the construction of the
substructure could only be carried out
during a period of low water discharge
(winter), resulting in a very ambitious
and tight construction schedule (winter
half-year 2020/2021). The extremely
unfavorable subsoi l condi t ions,
consisting of shallow, very soft to soft
plastic lacustrine clay deposits,
required a deep foundation solution for
the substructure (abutments and piers).
The proposed solution consisting of
frictional (grouted) ductile iron piles
was proven to be the most suitable and
cost-effective for the project, due to the
flexibility, large adaptability and
velocity of the installation. Proper
preparation together with a high level
of commitment from all involved in the
project, and the aforementioned advantages
of the chosen piling system,
made it possible to complete the project
on time and to the required quality
standards, overcoming additional challenges
such as the construction in the
hazardous area of the alpine Rhine
under unfavorable weather conditions
and the supply difficulties associated
with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Acknowledgments
This document was only possible
thanks to the invaluable and support
and contributions of Michael Egger
(Department of Road Construction
Management of the Federal State of
Vorarlberg, Austria), Martin Lenzi (BGG
Consult, Austria), Carina Kirchmair,
Bernhard Schrötter and Neville Wood
(Tiroler Rohre, Austria), and the team of
Winsauer Bau (Austria).
Freddy Lopez is a geotechnical engineer and
technical advisor for piling applications at
Tiroler Rohre in Austria. He has more than 15
years of experience in the design, execution
and monitoring of geotechnical solutions and
has published several technical papers for
geotechnical conferences worldwide.
Erich Steinlechner is a civil engineer and
director of piling systems at Tiroler Rohre. He
started his career in 1991 managing
international deep foundation projects
worldwide, and has been with TRM Piling
Systems since 2001 acting in different
positions and as a member of the board since
2021.
104 * DEEP FOUNDATIONS * JULY/AUG 2024
July/August 2024

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