An Adventure Tunnel in Wiehl
The city of Wiehl has decided to transform its public park into a family-friendly adventure park. As part of this redesign, a replacement bridge over the river was needed. The special challenge: an adventure bridge that connects the existing playground with the new one, providing play and fun throughout the day.
A Project Over Water
The goal was to connect two playgrounds, completing the transformation of the public park. After a total project duration of six months, the bridge—naturally meeting all safety requirements according to DIN 1176-1 for recreational equipment—was officially inaugurated. As with any project, there were unique challenges beforehand, including load distribution, the bridge’s path over water, and tension management.
Load Distribution, V-Shape, and Frame
Solution 1:
The heavy loads of 16 tons had to be cleverly redirected. This was achieved through tension rods extending from the outer towers backward.
Solution 2:
Since the bridge spans water, it was crucial for it to be fully enclosed. For this reason, it was designed as a V-shaped tunnel.
Solution 3:
The integrated tensioning device within the tunnel frame allows for adjustments to the expansion of the cables, either minimizing or increasing it, and compensating for tolerances.
A Tailor-Made Structure
This project featured another unique aspect: assembly as a complete product. This required millimeter-precise installation, demanding highly precise planning and execution. In the end, the entire structure was delivered as a single unit and assembled within just a few days—not anchored into the ground, as is often the case, but fastened to the foundation using dowels. This provided a major advantage: the adventure tunnel can be easily dismantled and reassembled elsewhere at any time.
Expertise and Collaboration
A long-standing partner handled the structural analysis and foundations, while project management remained in the hands of HUCK Seiltechnik. This allowed us to serve as the perfect interface, ensuring that each project participant contributed their full expertise. In the end, everyone benefited from this solution, and the client experienced a professional and smooth project phase.
A Unique Structure with a Future
Every bridge and tunnel is unique—choosing a modular system means building for the future. With this system, every load-bearing cable, walking cable, and all other components can be replaced with minimal effort if needed, resulting in significant savings in time and costs. Using real steel cables also offers an advantage: the condition of the cables can be quickly assessed and monitored at any time.
A Place for the Whole Family
The public park in Wiehl, also known as Wiehlpark, now offers not only multiple playgrounds and a café but also a true adventure bridge. Visitors can spend the entire day in the park, enjoy nature, and watch children and adults alike explore their surroundings. The best part: children can play in the Wiehl river and then cross the bridge barefoot to reach the other side. Along the way, they experience plenty of movement—swinging, wobbling, balancing, climbing, and scrambling.
With this project, we once again demonstrated that customized and innovative solutions are possible when expertise and dedication come together. We are delighted that the adventure bridge in Wiehl has become a permanent part of the park’s social life since its opening.
Customer testimonial
„The city of Wiehl has been focusing on high quality in playground equipment for many years. Huck Seiltechnik stands out for its vandalism-proof and visually appealing products, as well as reliable spare parts supply. From the first idea to implementation, Huck Seiltechnik provided excellent advice and support.
An outstanding example is the rope bridge that connects both banks of the Wiehl River. Huck Seiltechnik excellently tackled challenges such as stability, statics, flood safety, and integration into the construction process of the main project to remodel Wiehl Park. Communication was always smooth, and changes in the planning were implemented in a solution-oriented manner.
On recommendation, I worked directly with Huck Seiltechnik for the first time. Despite initial concerns about the integration of the rope tunnel into the construction process, it quickly became clear that Huck Seiltechnik is a strong and reliable partner.
The opening of the new Wiehl Park revealed the high acceptance of the rope tunnel across all age groups, making it an ideal experience for the whole family. When improvements were necessary for the staircase, Huck Seiltechnik immediately supported us and quickly carried out the necessary work.
Huck Seiltechnik has proven to be an extremely competent and reliable partner, always working solution-oriented and ensuring a smooth project process.“
Pascal Hilgenberg | Project Manager, City Administration Wiehl