Last weekend, the BESIX and BESIX Infra teams, in collaboration with subcontractors Iemants and Sarens, placed the second and final bridge section of the entry/exit complex on Hector Henneau Avenue over the Brussels Ring Road. This was done in a shorter time frame than initially planned. The impressive operation started at 8 pm on Saturday evening and was successfully completed around 11 am on Sunday morning. This remarkable achievement demonstrates once again that BESIX, thanks to her expertise, excels in efficiency which makes it the partner of choice for projects in challenging circumstances.
Less nuisance than initially foreseen
The installation of this second bridge section, which weighs no less than 1,700 tonnes, was initially scheduled to take a full weekend and would involve 3 different traffic diversions throughout that weekend. Thanks to intense collaboration between the partners and the client to find alternative methods and to draw up a meticulous planning, the disruption could be reduced from a full weekend to only 15 hours. It also meant that traffic could only be diverted around the works with one diversion, which improved the safety of all drivers.
A complicated operation
The second bridge section, which with its length of 106 metres and width of 27 metres is the equivalent of half a football pitch, had to be moved first. BESIX and its partner Iemants assembled the bridge section on an empty part of the site just off the motorway during the past months. BESIX called on two SPMTs* from subcontractor Sarens to move the bridge section away from the site zone to the Ring Road. The median strip was filled and covered with driving plates for this purpose. Part of the concrete crash barriers and some lighting poles also had to give way. The second bridge section had to pass under the first bridge section and then be rotated. To make sure that the SPMTs drive synchronously, this is done at extremely low speed. The bridge section took about 4 hours to cover a distance of about 500 metres.
*Self Propelled Modular Trailer
Jacking up to a height of 9 metres
Once it arrived at its final destination, it was time to raise the bridge to the correct height. To best distribute the enormous weight, it was decided to jack up the bridge from the SPMTs. These had to be adequately reinforced for this purpose. The bridge was jacked up to a height of 9 metres to position it correctly over the concrete abutments, after which it sank back 2.5 metres to finally be laid down and secured. In the coming months, the bridge will be prepared for final use.
A new bridge for all road users
This second bridge section should be opened for service by the end of November. This section, which is 10 metres wider than the first, will take over motorised traffic. The first bridge section will then be reserved exclusively for cyclists, pedestrians and will serve as an ecopassage for fauna. The new bridge is thus quite a bit wider than the 16.5-metre-wide old bridge. The access and exit ramps on both sides of the bridge will also be made safer and walking and cycling paths will be built in the area. The entire project is part of the programme ‘Werken aan de Ring’ and is being carried out by BESIX on behalf of De Werkvennootschap. The project will be completed by summer 2024.
