Overview
- Workers have begun cutting apart the roughly 1893-built Sternbrücke and have already removed the bridge's middle section for transport to a Deutsche Bahn site in Wilhelmsburg.
- A new prefabricated bridge is staged nearby and is described as about 108 metres long and roughly 4,500 tonnes, with project estimates ranging from about €125 million to €172 million.
- Deutsche Bahn says the replacement is needed to carry the hundreds of S‑Bahn, regional and ICE trains that cross the site, and plans to lift the new span into place shortly after demolition finishes.
- Authorities have put in place wide road and rail diversions, buses are being rerouted and S‑Bahn services are heavily restricted, with disruptions expected to last for weeks to months.
- Officials and experts warn of logistical risks during the heavy transport and installation, the Federal Railway Authority has confirmed a residual risk to buried sewers and conduits, and local activists who opposed the project were unable to stop the work.