Tausendfüßler is an elevated road in the middle of Düsseldorf. The street has been ‘picked up’ to create a ‘bridge’ that allows cross relations in the underlying urban fabric. Drivers find themselves virtually in the atrium of the P&C for some drive by shopping.
The Jan Wellem Hochstraße was completed in 1962. The 500 meter long road was planned by Friedrich Tamms who also designed several bridges over the Rhine that are referred to as the Düsseldorfer Bridge Family.
The bridge appears light. The sweeping curves are majestic, the detailing of the so-called fish-belly shape is über elegant, the concrete beautiful. It is domesticated infrastructure, the kind of road that you would like in your backyard. Happy street. But not much longer.
Although the Tausendfüßler is a monument since early nineties it is likely that it will be torn down. The ‘bridge’ will be replaced with a tunnel. The idea is that the tunnel will eliminate the ‘barrier’ created by this road on legs. But where would you rather be in a traffic jam?
http://en.structurae.de/structures/data/index.cfm?ID=s0002511
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tausendf%C3%BC%C3%9Fler_(D%C3%BCsseldorf)
