Hamburg moves 3,700‑ton Sternbrücke to permanent railway site
The newly built Sternbrücke, a steel railway bridge weighing about 3,700 tonnes, 108 metres long and 21 metres high, is being relocated through Hamburg's Max‑Brauer‑Allee to its final installation at the Stresemannstraße crossing. The move uses 48 self‑propelled modular transporters (SPMT) with a total of 1,088 steerable wheels, advancing at roughly 1 km/h. Clearance is as tight as 40 cm at a balcony and 80‑90 cm at other points, requiring the street to be raised, reinforced with steel plates, and the removal of 86 trees, several lanterns and a tank‑station canopy. The bridge was lifted to a height of six metres before being positioned on prepared foundations. After placement, ballast, tracks, overhead lines and signals will be installed, allowing railway traffic—about 900 trains per day—to resume by the end of August. Project leadership is provided by Deutsche Bahn project manager Janna Widmaier, with transport executed by the Dutch firm Mammoet and its project manager Lars de Haas. The operation has attracted large public interest, with hundreds of onlookers watching the precise, inch‑by‑inch relocation.
Entities: Anjes Tjarks · Deutsche Bahn · Deutsche Bahn InfraGO · German railway network · Hamburg · Janna Widmaier · Lars de Haas · Mammoet · Max‑Brauer‑Allee · Sternbrücke · Sternbrücke · Sternbrücke (Hamburg railway bridge)
Claims
What the coverage asserts, and how well corroborated each claim is across sources.
- [● 11 SOURCES] Transport of the bridge began on Wednesday, 29 July 2026, one day earlier than planned. (source)
- [● 11 SOURCES] The bridge will be lifted to about six metres high using hydraulic cylinders. (source)
- [● 11 SOURCES] Railway traffic is scheduled to resume on 31 August 2026. (source)
- [● 11 SOURCES] The bridge weighs roughly 3,685 to 3,700 tonnes of steel. (source)
- [● 8 SOURCES] Residents along the transport route have been temporarily housed in hotels and safety posts installed. (source)
- [● 10 SOURCES] The narrowest clearance during transport is 40 cm at a balcony, with other clearances of 80–90 cm. (source)
- [● 9 SOURCES] A multi‑axle vehicle called a “Tausendfüßler” is used to move the bridge at about 1–2 km/h. (source)
- [● 9 SOURCES] The new Sternbrücke is 108 metres long and 21 metres high. (multiple)
- [● 9 SOURCES] Eighty‑six trees were felled and street lanterns removed to clear the transport route. (multiple)
- [● 8 SOURCES] The bridge is being moved on 48 self‑propelled modular transporters with a total of 1,088 steerable wheels. (new)