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Design idea
The new bridge over the mouth of the Vienna River should be as slender, elegant and minimal as possible. The historical ensemble around the Radetzky Bridge and the Urania requires a very reduced and completely flat, horizontal solution. Under no circumstances should any masts or towers of the folding structure be permanently raised. The bank areas should be left alone as far as possible.
That is why we opted for a typology in which the mechanics are integrated into the bridge structure itself and which virtually lifts itself upwards. This is possible with a double-jointed steel structure with integrated hydraulic rams, because the structure rests on both banks even when raised. All mechanical parts and drives lift themselves into the air, thereby removing themselves from the danger zone of the flood. No watertight pits or machine rooms need to be constructed and maintained.

Routing
The route of the bridge was chosen so that it is exactly tangent to the quay wall on the Urania side, i.e. the cyclist does not have to make a detour here, but can continue directly along the canal cycle path onto the bridge.
On the Herrmannpark side, we turn into a new cycle path along the bank of the Danube Canal immediately after the bridge so as not to fragment the leisure area around the Herrmannbar and to connect as directly as possible to the further cycle path after the reservoir. This routing results in a relatively large bridge span (approx. 50m), but has the advantage that the cycle path can be routed relatively directly and the new bridge is located at a comfortable distance from the nearby Radetzky Bridge.

Structural concept
The bascule bridge is planned as a steel structure and is therefore a lightweight and durable construction. Efficiency and cost-effectiveness were at the forefront when choosing the supporting structure. With the chosen bascule construction, the bridge meets the required framework conditions.
The bridge's load-bearing system is designed as a continuous girder with three spans and two Gerber joints when the bridge is accessible. When folded, the supporting structure forms a frame girder.