Renewal of a railway overpass in the district of Friesland

On behalf of Deutsche Bahn, a railway overpass over the Mühlentief watercourse in the federal state of Lower Saxony, in the district of Friesland, west of the district town of Jever, is being renewed. This required expert services for the chemical preservation of evidence of the areas used for the construction work, investigation of pollutants in the structure to be demolished and waste analyses of the excavated soil and mineral demolition materials. These expert services were provided by Mull und Partner Ingenieurgesellschaft.

The Mühlentief railway overpass is located on the 1570 railway line between Emden and Jever. The line is single-track and not electrified. The railway overpass is located on open track without a nearby road, so a temporary access route had to be constructed. As the area around the railway overpass is characterised by cohesive soils that are very susceptible to compaction, the topsoil was not removed in advance and load-distributing slabs were laid.

The railway overpass to be renewed dates back to 1907 and consists of an approx. 8 m wide steel superstructure. The structure is deeply founded on wooden piles.

The preservation of evidence of the construction road area, the BE area and the construction area was carried out by employees of Mull und Partner Ingenieurgesellschaft in August 2023 before the start of construction work. The pollutant analyses of the structure were also carried out during this appointment. The waste analysis of the excavated soil and the mineral demolition material was carried out from piles in October 2023. As soon as the work has been fully completed, a further investigation of the areas affected will be carried out and the chemical evidence will be finalised.