Oranjebrid Schiedam

The Oranjebridge in the centre of Schiedam was in need of major maintenance. The historic drawbridge from 1932 had always been well maintained by the municipality, but had never had major maintenance.

An innovative plan, based on absolutely minimising traffic disruption, resulted in the award of this project.

Because the bridge is an important passage in the center of Schiedam, we literally put the construction site in the air. By using a large steel platform above the road and above the movable bridge, we were able to reduce the traffic disruption for the complete replacement to two times a 24-hour traffic stoppage and one time a change weekend of the bridge.

This work platform allowed us to dismantle the heads of the lifting towers with minimal hindrance and maximum safe accessibility. At the same time, the bridge’s drop was operable, allowing shipping traffic to continue as normal.

All mechanical installations and the masonry of the new heads could also be carried out safely from this work platform.

The main focus of the work was in March 2022, when we removed the old bridge, installed a new bridge and replaced all the joints and supports of the bridge in one weekend. The bridge drive, control and operation were also renewed during this weekend, so that the bridge was operational again on Monday morning.

<h4>Overview of the work carried out</h4> <ul> <li>Drafting of Final Design and Implementation Design</li> <li>Project and process management in accordance with UAVgc 2020</li> <li>Complete replacement of the bridge drive</li> <li>Complete replacement of bridge control and operation</li> <li>Repairs of all steel iconic historical objects (railings, barrier boxes, etc.)</li> <li>Installing a sinker</li> <li>Applying new (hydraulic) supports and joints</li> <li>Applying new paving, asphalt and markings</li> </ul>