Weinzöttlbrücke Bridge

The Weinzöttlbrücke (also spelled Weinzödlbrücke) is a historic road and railway bridge that spans the Mur River in Graz. It is recognized as a listed structure.The Grazer Straße (B67) and the siding from Gösting to Andritz run on the northern outskirts of the city near St. Veit-Weinzödl (located in St. Gotthard), across the river.

On February 4, 1673, the Eggenbergers were granted permission to construct the inaugural wooden bridge over the Mur.After the Weinzöttlbrücke was opened, the roadway of the bridge was taken out. However, the pillars were left intact and eventually repurposed to construct a footbridge.The building was opened on October 7, 1923 and eventually demolished between 1953 and 1954.

Prior to the outbreak of the First World War, a group of local industrialists came together to advocate for the establishment of a railway connection. Their proposal aimed to connect Gösting to Sankt Radegund, with additional links to the Zankl paint factory in Gösting, the Kranz paper factory in Unter-Andritz, and the Münz gravel works.

The planning for a large bridge over the Mur River had commenced prior to the outbreak of the war. However, in 1916, the progress of the project was significantly scaled back as a result of the ongoing war.Construction work on the railway line commenced in 1917, involving the construction of 10 bridges to span roads and watercourses.

The Weinzöttlbrücke was constructed as a combined road and railway bridge, serving as the primary structure.The structure features three openings measuring 2 × 33 meters, along with an extra flood opening that has a clear width of 28 meters.The bridge between the land abutments measures 120 meters in length.

The bridge was designed to function as both a railway bridge with load standard II and a 1st class road bridge. The design took into account a regulation from July 15, 1911, which specified the concrete pressure requirements for both stamped concrete and reinforced concrete.

In 1918, the construction company Mayreder, Kraus & Co. began a construction project that involved the erection of a temporary wooden bridge over the downstream half of the Weinzöttl Bridge.The falsework for this bridge section was later erected using their yokes.The temporary bridge underwent its inaugural test at the end of June 1918, and regular rail traffic to Andritz commenced on August 1, 1918.

Rail traffic on the concrete bridge, originally designed for a standard-gauge industrial track, commenced in July 1920. Consequently, the wooden bridge that had been in use until then was dismantled.The work on the downstream half of the bridge was completed by April 1921.The bridge deck, which is 9 meters wide and made of reinforced concrete, was paved with small granite stones set in sand. Additionally, the two sidewalks, each measuring 1.5 meters wide, were surfaced with asphalt.

The stress test was conducted in August of 1922.The bridge was officially opened to traffic on December 3, 1922, with Federal President Michael Hainisch in attendance.

In 2005, significant damage was discovered on the Weinzöttl Bridge, necessitating immediate renovation.The work was conducted in 2007. During this period, the area was closed to all traffic except for regular buses.The costs were shared with the Andritz machine factory, which operates approximately 500 trains per year on the bridge.