GERMANY: The final pair of 38 tonne prefabricated components for a 110 m long, 1 420 tonne steel arch span forming part of the 8·5 km Saale-Elster Viaduct were installed on February 15.
The viaduct stands up to 21 m above a flood plain south of Halle, and includes an elevated junction between the routes to Leipzig and Halle.
The viaduct forms part of 230 km of new high speed line being built for the €10bn German Unity Transport Project 8 to upgrade the 500 km Nürnberg - Erfurt - Leipzig/Halle - Berlin corridor. The first stage is schedule to open in 2015, the second in 2017.
