News

Railway bridge Muiderberg makes crossing

10.05.2016

Last weekend the steel railway bridge at Muiderberg made the crossing to her new location, which is parallel to her final location. Bit by bit, the railway bridge, 255 meter long and weighing 8400 ton, was transported over the A1 motorway. The bridge contains as much steel as the Eiffel Tower and is 11 meters longer than the Tower Bridge, making it the longest railway bridge in the Netherlands without intermediate supports.

A 400-meter roadway was constructed for the transportation, to minimize the risk of sinking or becoming unbalanced during transport. This roadway consists of a stronger foundation and a layer of new sand that was stamped into the ground using a special machine. On top of this, a layer of strong asphalt was laid, which is also used for container terminals and runways.

Self Propelled Modular Trailers (SPMT's), with a total of 976 wheels, transported the railway bridge over the A1. Subsequently, the bridge was placed on temporary supports next to the existing bridge. In the next few months, the railway bridge will be completed, to be connected to the railway by the end of August.

Photo 4: Rijkswaterstaat