By the end of this year, around €160 million of renovation work will be underway on the Freihafenelbbrücke, a bridge near Hamburg in northern Germany.
The Freihafen Bridge, designated historically important, crosses the River Elbe and will be closed from January 2022 for the three years of work, according to German media reports.
Construction of the Freihafenelbbrücke started in 1914 but work was halted in 1917 due to the First World War. It was built to aid entry into the then separate Hamburg Free Port, which was 110km from the mouth of the Elbe and the open North Sea.
The 471m-long bridge finally opened in 1926 and is adjacent to a railway bridge. In addition to three lanes, it also has a separate railroad track for the Hamburg Port Railway but rail service was cut in 2012.
Despite the renovation work, its long-term future remains uncertain because of its age.
