Horb on the Neckar

Viaduct Horb

New bridge on the B32 near Horb

The result is a 667 m-long high-level bridge, up to 90 m high, comprising six spans. The three central piers are designed as pylons with a V-shaped widening, from which the superstructure is ‘suspended’. The foundations will consist mainly of large-diameter bored piles with a diameter of 1.50 m and depths of up to 40 m. The new high-level bridge will carry the B32 federal road across the Neckar Valley and form part of the planned route in the Horb area.

Project launch and initial construction phases

Following the project launch in 2023, special civil engineering works began: PORR completed the special civil engineering works south of the Neckar, and the southern abutment and the first pier were erected. At the same time, work began on the deep foundations for the auxiliary axes of the falsework, as well as the erection of the falsework in the southern section. BIM was introduced from the outset as a digital pilot project and utilised in day-to-day construction.

A superstructure that grows – section by section

In the southern construction section, the first bridge pier was erected in 2024. Starting at the abutment, the first superstructure section – out of a total of 26 – was erected using a sliding formwork system. The first superstructure section was completed in mid-April 2024.

In the summer of 2024, the team reached the centre of the valley. Work on the superstructure continued in sections 2 to 4 – including the installation of steel cross-beams, reinforcement and internal tendons – whilst the third advancing scaffold was being erected at the same time.

Specialist civil engineering expertise for safe subsoil

In September 2024, the Karlsruhe Regional Council handed over the ‘Am Rauschbart’ construction site. There, PORR special civil engineering began work on the bored pile foundations: a total of 233 large bored piles, up to 44 m in length, were installed, numerous temporary piers were carried out on, and around 100,000 m³ of earth was moved to create the working levels and site access roads.

By the end of February 2025, the foundation works had been completed, allowing the erection of the supporting scaffolding and piers to begin on the north side as well.

Completion of the first pylon superstructure

In April 2025, the 50-metre-long, cambered superstructure section in the area of the first southern pylon was completed within 2.5 months. Over 600 m³ of concrete was poured at great height during this process. This section forms the basis for the V-shaped, flared pylons and the subsequent cable-staying system, with five stay cables on each side.

At the same time, work continued in the north on the ‘Am Rauschbart’ abutment, whilst 60 m-long heavy-gauge steel plates, up to 14 cm thick, were being prepared to reinforce the webs.

Pylon grows, first cable section takes shape

By autumn 2025, the first two of a total of six pylons had been completed, and the final pier on the north side had also been erected. This laid the groundwork for constructing the next sections of the superstructure.

In September 2025, the first of three cable sections was erected. A 700-metric-tonne crawler crane hoisted the heavy steel plates, which were up to 60 metres long and weighed 100 metric tonnes.

The superstructure is visibly taking shape

By the end of January 2026, almost half of the entire superstructure had been erected. Following the cable installation work on the first pylon, the advance scaffolding was moved to the next construction sections, enabling work to be carried out simultaneously at five positions in future.

At the same time, preparations were made for the second and final deployment of the crawler crane, which was to hoist the remaining large steel plates.

At the end of February 2026, work began on installing the stay cables, the central structural element of the high bridge. At axes 30, 40 and 50, the superstructure is braced with five stay cables per girder. Modern stranded cables are anchored in a force-fit manner over the pylons and the superstructure in several tensioning stages.

Structure spanning the Neckar Valley

With its pylons reaching heights of up to 90 metres, the stay cables and the 667-metre-long superstructure, the high bridge will in future dominate the Neckar Valley near Horb. The project involves the construction of a new crossing over the B32 and combines bridge construction, special civil engineering and structural engineering within a multi-year infrastructure project.

An overview in the animation

The animation produced by the Karlsruhe Regional Council provides an impressive overview of the entire project in this YouTube video.

See more photos and videos of the project