Hochbrücke Rottweil

As a measure to prevent this, a temporary protective screen in the form of construction fencing was erected in 2010 and it was later expanded. This brought a respite, but the solution was not a permanent one. The reason was that the construction fencing could in no way meet the requirements for the preservation of sites of historic interest: They ruined the appearance of the bridge and blocked the view of the city panorama.

A new safety system needed to be found – unobtrusive, attractive and yet effective. What made things more difficult was that there were no plans or information on the statics of the viaduct. After a period of deliberation, a decision was ultimately made to use a safety net construction from Jakob Rope Systems. The enterprise from Trubschachen offers high-quality stainless steel ropes and safety technology with an attractive appearance as one of their specialities. The Webnet products in particular – extremely adaptable net constructions with a comparatively unobtrusive appearance requiring minimal maintenance over the course of decades – were deemed ideal for the bridge project.

In the end, Webnet safety nets made were installed three metres below the bridge roadway on both sides of the bridge. They were supported on each bridge pillar by one strut and were stretched out horizontally on an additional bar extending three metres out. Due to its transparency, the construction does not hinder the incidence of light or existing lines of visual connection. The fact that the mesh size and the loading capacity of the net structure are variable proved to be advantageous for the project. This way not only suicide attempts could be prevented, but also jumps ‘for the fun of it’ and ill-conceived tests of courage as well.