The excursion began with a visit to the construction site of the Weser crossing (DEGES, Wayss & Freytag), an immersed tunnel as part of the A 281 motorway link around Bremen, which was explained to us in an exciting presentation. Afterwards, we visited the impressive production of the tunnel segments in the dock at the dock of the Lloyd Werft in Bremerhaven.

After an evening together on the beach in Cuxhaven, the second day began with a ferry ride across the Elbe to the ElbX crossing in Glückstadt (WTM, PORR, W&F) – a tunnel section of the 700 km long SuedLink power line. At this site, the tunnel is currently being bored using a tunnel boring machine and the segmental construction method. After an inspiring keynote speech, we were given an exciting tour of the construction site and were even allowed to go into the tunnel for a while before the visit concluded with a barbecue.

We then visited the construction site of the 5th lock chamber on the Kiel Canal in Brunsbüttel (Wasserstraßen-Neubauamt Nord-Ostsee-Kanal, W&F). Here, too, we were given an impressive insight into the construction project with an introductory presentation and a detailed tour of the extensive lock area – rounded off with another grilled sausage. In the evening, we continued on to the Kahlenberg guest house directly on the Baltic Sea, where we ended the day with a relaxed barbecue around the campfire after a refreshing swim.

The third day led us to the Rader High Bridge (Implenia), a 1.5 km long motorway bridge, where the eastern half is currently being constructed parallel to the existing bridge using the incremental launching method. The construction project was presented to us in an interesting lecture, followed by a guided tour of the construction site, including climbing one of the piers and visiting the launching abutment.

In the afternoon, we travelled to Hamburg, where we went on an impressive tour of HafenCity under the guidance of several engineers from WTM. We were given fascinating insights into a wide range of high-rise and civil engineering projects in HafenCity – supplemented by interesting background information on the individual projects.

At the end of the day, we were invited by WTM to a great barbecue on their roof terrace with the best view of Hamburg harbour. An intensive exchange took place late into the evening with many inspiring conversations between all participants and engineers from the field.

On the last day of the excursion, the programme was rounded off with an exciting tour of the port with the Hamburg Port Authority (HPA), during which no question about the port, its operation and its development was left unanswered. With a wealth of interesting impressions and exciting experiences in our luggage, we then travelled home by bus.

We would like to thank all participating companies and partners who made the fantastic and varied programme possible through their commitment and special hospitality, as well as our colleagues from RPTU Kaiserslautern for the wonderful time we had together! Our special thanks also go to the Friends of the Institute for Solid Structures at TU Darmstadt for their generous financial support – and of course to the students for the unforgettable evenings and bus trips. All participants were able to take away exciting impressions and exclusive insights into special and unique construction projects. We are already looking forward to future excursions!