Dismantling of the ‘Vleutense’ bridge

Date May - October 2008 

Used equipment 22 ton mobile excavators, 20 ton excavator, 12 ton power shovel, 35m1 lifts, SPMTs, 60x20 metre pontoon

Special features Very limited space, bridge over a busy shipping route, demolition location between railway line and main road.

To improve the circulation of the through traffic in the city of Utrecht, the Netherlands, it was decided to build a new bridge next to the existing bridge. DDM Demontage was awarded the contract to demolish the old road bridge, which was now hemmed in between the new road bridge and the adjacent railway line. There were plenty of restrictions: nothing was allowed to fall into the water, there must be no disruption to the shipping and road traffic, the new bridge was 1 metre away from the bridge to be demolished and there must be no inconvenience to the people living in the vicinity. Before the demolition work could commence the top asphalt layer had to be removed by machine and over a weekend both ramps of the bridge could be removed. The ramps on the east and west side of the bridge had to be removed before a start could be made on sliding the main span onto land. The curved steel structure of the bridge was reduced in size, partly by lifting work and partly by manual cutting from man lifts. Immediately after this on one side the embankment was reduced and made passable. During a further weekend the bridge was picked up using a pontoon and four SPMTs and placed on the shore, where the bridge was subsequently demolished. The concrete piers, including the 16 metre long piles (foundation), were also removed. The traffic now moves on via the new bridge and everything continues as usual.