ABSTRACT
The increasing need for mobility is fuelling interest in extending the service life of existing bridges. In case of the Jauntal Bridge, one of the highest railway bridges in Europe, a new structure with two tracks is placed on the existing massive concrete columns with a hight of almost 100 m compared to the old structure with one track. Non-linear innovative numerical analyses and advanced safety considerations were used to examine whether the significantly higher bearing-column forces can be sustained by the existing columns and column heads. This paper shows how the advanced modelling methods can be applied to ensure that the existing structures, can be safely maintained over their planned lifetime in service for sustainability reasons.
