Floods and their dangers
Those who live by a river are familiar with the situation that repeats itself annually, often in spring. As the masses of snow melt, the water level rises by the minute. And pedestrian bridges, which usually allow crossing the Tauber River within 5 minutes, suddenly disappear into the water. What if you wanted to go from one side of the Tauber to the other and the bridge is underwater? Where it would normally take you 5 minutes to cross the river, now you spend an hour.
What's the alternative?
Quite simply: The bridge is raised high enough so that you can cross the Tauber River dry-footed again. This may sound like a simple task, but it actually requires a great deal of technical expertise to find an efficient solution.
How was this project realized?
The entire endeavor was accomplished using 4 Screw Jacks of the BJ3 model, working in parallel. Each of these Screw Jacks can handle a maximum load of 250kN. With this arrangement, the pedestrian bridge rises as if by magic as soon as the Tauber River reaches a critical water level.
Special environmental conditions require special lift mechanisms
The environmental conditions were indeed unusual. Therefore, special precautions had to be taken to achieve a long service life. The spindle is protected with a folding bellow, and the spindles are made of stainless steel. The gear housings are coated with a special 3-layer protective paint.
Screw Jack used: BJ 3 with a maximum load of 250kN and a stroke of 5,600mm, along with a TR 80x10 spindle.