The structure carries Konrad-Adenauer-Straße – the continuation of Reinhardtstraße – which has two vehicle lanes as well as cycleways and footpaths on both carriageways.

From 1877 to 1879 a new bridge was built on the western Kronprinzenufer bank, and was named after the then German crown prince, Frederick William.

The piers and abutments were made of clinker bricks, clad with granite in places, the foundations were of concrete.

With the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961 the bridge was closed and lost its importance as a transport route because the River Spree was a sector boundary here.

Its main engineer, Gerhard Sedlacek, is the designer of the revolutionary support system holding it up on either side of the river (the elbows are visible nearest to the water).