Sliding along the Rhine:
the third Oberkassel bridge The quarter of a century after 1971 coincidentally started with the construction of another bridge. The provisional post-war Oberkassel bridge was not able to cope with the increase in traffic volume. It was decided that a new bridge should be built, and construction commenced in 1971 – slightly further upstream, parallel to the old bridge. The completion date for the steel bridge was 1973, two years after construction started. After this, the tracks were laid. The trams were provided with their own tracks along the centre of the bridge.
At the end of January 1974, the new bridge provisionally opened. It was a total of 35 metres wide, had four traffic lanes and two paths for cyclists and pedestrians. Only then was the old bridge demolished. This was followed by a premiere that attracted world-wide attention. The entire Oberkassel bridge was placed on slide bearings in April 1976 and moved to its present position. This marked the start of a new chapter in the history of this tradition-steeped bridge that has such close links with the Rheinbahn.