Feel the gentle breeze coming off the Alte Donau. We are standing before the Kagraner Brücke. It’s more than just a bridge, it is a testament to Vienna’s resilience. The Kagraner Brücke connects Kagran and Kaisermühlen. It divides the Alte Donau into the Obere and Untere sections.
This bridge is part of the Wagramer Straße B8. It leads directly to the Reichsbrücke and the UNO-City. Imagine this area in 1945. The previous bridge had been blown up near the end of World War II. The retreating Wehrmacht destroyed it on April 3, 1945.
A temporary wooden bridge was quickly erected. It could not handle heavy loads. But Vienna needed a permanent solution fast. By late June 1945, preliminary work for a new bridge began. On November 22, 1945, the new Kagraner Brücke opened to traffic. This quick construction was vital for the city’s recovery.
The planners faced material shortages. They used steel sheets that were in storage. They adapted the bridge design to suit the available material. Waagner Biro designed and built the bridge. They kept the support widths at 31.9 meters. The bridge was 22.5 meters wide. Porr handled the construction work.
The bridge used a grid girder design. It had eight welded solid-web girders. These supported a 20-centimeter-thick reinforced concrete slab. This also included a leveling layer. An insulating layer and a protective concrete layer were added. The road surface was made of 10-centimeter-thick wooden block paving.
Welding began on August 7, 1945. It was mostly done by October 10. After assembly, workers started pouring the road slab on October 15. The bridge was tested on November 14, 1945. It opened to traffic on November 5.
By the 1970s, the Kagraner Brücke needed widening due to increased traffic. This expansion had to happen without disrupting traffic flow. Construction started in June 1975 on the upstream bridge structure. Once finished, all bridge installations were moved to the new structure. Traffic then shifted to this new section. Work on the second structure began in August 1976.
Only one road closure was needed. It occurred overnight from a Saturday to a Sunday. During this time, workers filled the gap between the two structures with concrete. The new Kagraner Brücke opened on October 7, 1977. The tram tracks were later removed.
In 1990, the city council decided to build a pedestrian and bicycle underpass. This cost 5.05 million Schilling. Construction started in November 1990 and finished in April 1991. At the northeastern end of the bridge sits a tram stop. It is at the intersection of Wagramer Straße and Erzherzog-Karl-Straße. The Alte Donau U-Bahn station is at the southwestern end.
The Kagraner Brücke stands as a symbol of Vienna’s ability to rebuild and adapt. It connects not just places. It connects the past with the present. As you cross this bridge remember its story. It is a story of resilience. It is a story of innovation. It is a story of Vienna.