2023-06-11 06:34:00
The section of bridge that was placed over the highway overnight from Saturday to Sunday is the size of half a football field. “It’s a technical feat to put such a colossus in place,” said Marijn Struyf, spokesperson for De Werkvennootschap, the organization carrying out the work.
A hundred spectators attended this placement on Saturday evening. The bridge is 106 meters long with a margin of 26 meters and weighs nearly 2,000 tons. From where it was assembled, just next to the Brussels ring road, it was placed under the existing bridge. Subsequently, the colossus was turned a quarter, to lie down parallel to the bridge already present.
The operation began around 8 p.m. Saturday. The placement lasted regarding two hours. On the night of Saturday to Sunday, the bridge will be lifted so that it can be upgraded with the existing bridge. As the structure weighs nearly 2,000 tonnes, this represents work that takes several hours. The bridge will normally be in place Sunday morning.
To allow the work to take place safely, the Brussels ring road in Zaventem was completely closed to traffic in both directions from 8 p.m. on Saturday. The highway will reopen Sunday at 2:00 p.m.
“The contractor initially estimated that it would take more than 38 hours to complete the work,” explained Marijn Struyf. “But thanks to innovative techniques, they were able to limit the duration to 5 p.m., so that the nuisance remains as limited as possible.”
“The project for the Ring is part of a Flemish vision which aims to restrict access to Brussels”
The Avenue Hector Henneau bridge dates from the 1970s and needed to be replaced urgently. The roadway was also not sufficiently secure for cyclists and pedestrians. The new bridge will have a separate cycle lane, dedicated bus lanes and a sidewalk. A green passage is also planned to allow animals to cross as well. In total, the bridge will be 44 meters wide, more than double the 16.5 meter width of the old bridge.
The works have been carried out in different phases since April 2021. The first half of the bridge was put in place at the end of June 2022. The old bridge was demolished a few months later. With the installation of the second section of the bridge, another important step has been taken. The entire structure should be operational in the summer of 2024.
The whole project costs around 38 million euros.
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