Access bridge museum, Murten

The project
The story: In 1978, the Museum of Murten moved into a listed mill located on a slope not far from the lakeshore and the old town. To allow visitors direct access to the museum rooms on the upper floors of the mill, a wooden access bridge was built. However, the nearly forty years under the open sky have taken their toll on the bridge. The wooden structure had developed rot due to structural defects and therefore had to be additionally reinforced two years ago. In addition, the parapet, with a height of only 90 centimeters, no longer met current safety standards. The municipality of Murten therefore decided to replace the crossing.

The construction
The new bridge is made of block-glued Swiss larch wood. Larch is a very durable wood with good structural wood preservation, making it ideal for outdoor use. The new museum bridge was practically ready assembled at the timber builder. The 10.5-meter-long, 3.4-ton bridge was transported to the museum by a semitrailer truck and assembled there within a few hours.

The challenge
Unlike the old one, the new bridge was no longer attached to the wooden structure of the old mill's arbor. But: In order to preserve the old structure, it was mounted completely detached from the building. As a result, the bridge has neither a vertical nor a horizontal support for lateral bracing at one end. It therefore had to be clamped to the abutment on the slope.