In 1991, a wooden footbridge was built in Walgau in the municipality of Bludesch by the pioneers of the pioneer platoon from Bregenz. Due to the exposed location of the footbridge and the unpredictability of the Lutz for flood events, regular inspection of the footbridge is necessary. In addition to periodic inspections, it is planned to carry out a general renovation every ten years or so, depending on the stress and weather conditions. This was recently necessary again.
The footbridge provides the link from the Walgau barracks to the Lutz-Au training area of the 23rd Jäger Battalion stationed there and enables the soldiers to reach the training area on foot. Without the footbridge, they would have to take a ten-kilometer detour over the nearest bridge on the Lutz river and valuable training time would be lost.
After checking the two steel girders and the anchoring, it was found that they were still in perfect condition. However, the supporting surface and the railing were already badly worn and had to be completely replaced. The preparatory work for this took place in the garages of the Bilgeri barracks in Bregenz. In one week, all the squared timbers for the decking were cut to the correct length and the railings were cut to size. As the parapet height for railings has changed since the footbridge was built, the footbridge was given a correspondingly higher railing. The pioneers from Bregenz used over seven cubic meters of wood from local spruce trees and after two weeks of hard work were able to reopen the footbridge for use in its former glory. The wood came from the military training area in Hochfilzen and was provided free of charge by the Austrian Armed Forces. After completion, the entire pioneer platoon gathered on the new footbridge for a souvenir photo.
