Listed railway bridges - potential for sustainable construction

Due to their relevance to the history of construction and the need for renewal, historic railway bridges are often in conflict between the preservation of historical monuments and construction practice. But the declared aim is to preserve them and continue to use them. It will be shown why it is necessary to consider historic railway bridges in the context of their network. This is because their primary function is the overpassing of a line. Due to this function, a necessary degree of changeability of (listed) railway bridges has to be ensured. The necessary changes mean that bridges have to be replaced again and again, and it is noticeable that the structure of the renewed construction methods is decreasing in diversity. Also in terms of sustainability, railway bridges should be protected and at the same time changeable. In this way, the individual structures can be preserved for as long as possible. Conservation of resources through preservation instead of demolition and new construction go hand in hand with the goals of heritage conservation to preserve material and ideal resources for future generations. The three criteria of sustainability are reviewed here for railway bridge constructions. Finally, examples of successful preservation and successful renovation are shown.