Idiotenbrücke

The truss bridge fully spanned the five-lane Innere Kanalstraße along with two pedestrian paths; two railway tracks with ballast ran across the top. Because it was built as an arch bridge, clearance at the edges was even lower than at the centre.

The bridge formed part of the Cologne rail triangle (Gleisdreieck), where tracks from the main station fan out northward, southward, and westward. Within the triangle sit the Gladbacher Wall depot alongside several sidings. In total, eight railway bridges cross Innere Kanalstraße, a road heavily used by freight traffic.

The low clearance caused repeated accidents with oversized trucks whose drivers ignored the posted prohibition signs. In 1997 alone, 14 lorries got stuck — despite warning signs, bollards, and flashing yellow lights. A security guard who ran into the road waving whenever a light barrier was triggered reduced the number of incidents but could not prevent them entirely. An estimated 100-plus trucks became wedged over the years, repeatedly blocking Innere Kanalstraße, one of Cologne's key traffic arteries. The bridge was a frequent topic in regional news and a constant talking point around the city.

Demolition of the old bridge began in September 2007, and a replacement with 4.5 m of clearance opened in July 2008. The remaining seven bridges at the rail triangle kept their lower clearances of 3.60 to 4 m for technical reasons, so collisions there have continued — and the nickname "Idiotenbrücke" has since migrated to those structures.

The name is not unique to Cologne: a motorway overpass inaugurated in Saint Petersburg in 2009 shares the same nickname, having already claimed at least 170 trucks. In the English-speaking world, structures like this are often called a "can opener bridge."