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363:. With the outbreak of war in the late summer of 1939, French troops blew up the bridge's main western support. Until September 1940 the bridge could nevertheless be used courtesy of temporary repairs undertaken. In November 1944 German troops blew up the bridge's main eastern support, effectively destroying the bridge in its totality.
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railway line. The project required that trains be able to cross the Rhine at Kehl at speeds of up to 120 km/h (75 mph) at a time when the single track 1956 bridge was restricted to 60 km/h (37 mph). Provision was therefore made for a twin track bridge. Work began in March 2008
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Work began on the first single track rail bridge in May 1954. This is a triple span post-free trellis frame steel bridge supported by a continuous beam. The bridge was opened on 12 August 1956. The frontier was set at the midpoint of the bridge:
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A replacement double track railway bridge was first used on 10 October 2010 and formally opened in
December 2010 in order to permit trains to cross the river more rapidly. The speed limit on the new bridge is 160 km/h (100 mph).
394:). This included provision for new railway bridges connecting Kehl and Strasbourg. Two separate single-track bridges were envisaged, one for each direction of travel, but a second bridge of this nature was never actually built.
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saw the turntable on the eastern (Kehl) end of the bridge dynamited. Until a new steel structure could be erected in 1874, a provisional timber structure was put in place. As a result of the war the frontier moved: between
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The new bridge is in total 238.4 metres (782 ft) long, 12.2 metres (40 ft) high and 13 metres (43 ft) wide. Clearance for river traffic at high water and flood levels must be at least 7 metres (23 ft).
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By this time a project had reached the planning stage to replace the bridge which by now was more than 75 years old, but no such replacement would be built till well after the
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The structure would comprise a twin track bridge 253 metres (830 ft) long, with a central truss section of 177 metres (581 ft). On each side of the bridge would be a
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company. The superstructure weighed approximately 1000 tons, and was assembled on the west (Strasbourg) bank of the river on a site 450 metres (1,480 ft) long.
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it was agreed that a railway bridge should be constructed across the Rhine between Kehl and
Strasbourg. This would be the first permanent bridge across the
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taking responsibility for the foundations. In order to sink the piles into the Rhine mud it was necessary to construct
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Topographical map showing the location of the current bridges. France is on the left, Germany on the right.
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In July 1945 U.S. engineering troops constructed a military kit based provisional single-track bridge.
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was opened in May 1861. Since then the bridge has been partially or fully destroyed more than once.
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On 14 March 2006 France and
Germany agreed the framework for the construction of the extended
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Abkommen über die festen Brücken und Fähren über den Rhein an der deutsch-französischen Grenze
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concerning permanent bridges and transit over the Rhine on the Franco-German frontier (
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The Kehl railway bridge constructed in 1956, was a single track railway bridge between
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Under the terms of an international convention dated 2 July 1857 between
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Interconnexion du TGV-Est français et de l’ICE allemand - LGV-Est
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both ends of the bridge were located in and wholly owned by
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The steel superstructure was delivered and assembled by
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extending 18 metres (59 ft) below the river level.
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280:with 26 metres (85 ft) of usable diameter.
419:with completion scheduled for the end of 2010.
355:The new bridge shortly before it opened in 2010
410:Complementing the 1956 bridge: the 2010 bridge
308:The bridge became operational on 11 May 1861.
367:Replacing the 1861 bridge: the 1956 bridge
458:Le nouveau pont de Kehl est sur les rails
332:that the bridge would be wholly owned by
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521:Buildings and structures in Strasbourg
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156:6.66 metres (21.9 ft) (1956–2010)
448:sur « france-allemagne.fr »
285:Compagnie des chemins de fer de l'Est
336:. This was consistent with France's
168:12.2 metres (40 ft) (from 2010)
541:21st-century architecture in France
223:, crossing in the process both the
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272:The completed bridge seen in 1920.
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183:December 2010 (most recent bridge)
16:Bridge in France and Kehl, Germany
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166:8 metres (26 ft) (1956–2010)
501:International bridges in Germany
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536:France–Germany border crossings
496:International bridges in France
181:May 1861 (first railway bridge)
460:sur « 20minutes.fr »
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516:1861 establishments in Europe
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531:Bridges in Baden-Württemberg
347:The destroyed bridge in 1940
311:The outbreak in 1870 of the
45:The bridges of 1956 and 2010
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511:Railway bridges in Germany
402:owns the eastern half and
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148:238.4 metres (782 ft)
506:Railway bridges in France
491:Bridges completed in 2010
486:Bridges completed in 1861
481:Bridges completed in 1956
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283:Work began in 1858, the
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23:The Rhine Bridge at Kehl
526:Transport in Strasbourg
406:owns the western half.
476:Bridges over the Rhine
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296:"Gebrüder Benckiser"
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330:Treaty of Versailles
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74:48.57556°N 7.80083°E
338:military occupation
313:Franco-Prussian War
289:protective caissons
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444:2008-11-14 at the
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259:French government
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79:48.57556; 7.80083
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130:Characteristics
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145:Total length
139:Truss bridge
93:Rail traffic
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263:Upper Rhine
206:across the
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52:Coordinates
470:Categories
427:References
247:See also:
217:Strasbourg
198:The first
112:Strasbourg
62:48°34′32″N
303:Pforzheim
278:turntable
442:Archived
257:and the
188:Location
65:7°48′3″E
400:Germany
388:Germany
326:Germany
229:Germany
173:History
124:Germany
98:Crosses
90:Carries
404:France
384:France
334:France
233:France
178:Opened
163:Height
135:Design
116:France
108:Locale
255:Baden
225:Rhine
209:Rhine
153:Width
102:Rhine
386:and
322:1919
320:and
318:1871
301:, a
231:and
221:Kehl
219:and
204:Kehl
120:Kehl
118:and
202:at
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122:,
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