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Second bridge in five bridge programme
Mammoet has completed the second major bridge replacement at Amsterdam Centraal Station, advancing a five bridge upgrade programme tied to ProRail’s High Frequency Rail Transport programme. The works are designed to support higher train frequencies through track optimisation, station infrastructure changes and civil works inside the rail hub.
Heavy steel moved by water
Working with Dura Vermeer, Mammoet handled the load out, transport and installation of three steel deck sections built by Hollandia Infra. The bridge consisted of two 28.5 metre sections weighing 275 tonnes each and a 21 metre centre section weighing 175 tonnes.
Rather than move the sections by road through central Amsterdam, Mammoet transported them by flat top barge to the Oostertoegang side of the station. The barges were partially submerged to pass beneath a low footbridge, reducing disruption while the station remained open.
For a city centre rail station, that choice matters. Moving bridge decks of this size through streets would be like trying to thread a needle with a steel beam. Water gave the project team more room, fewer interfaces with traffic and a clearer path to the worksite.
Different lift method
The first bridge replacement in 2025 used Mammoet’s Mega Jack 300 system, but tighter space between existing and newly installed structures required a different approach this time. The sections were rotated 90 degrees using self propelled modular transporters before being raised with a four point hydraulic lifting system assembled on the quayside.
Leo de Vette, project manager at Mammoet, said the team had to account for the decks and columns of the old bridges, as well as the bridge installed last year. “For this reason, we had to first manoeuvre and rotate the new sections underneath these bridges and then jack them up using a four point lifting system,” he said.
The centre section required further sequencing. It was floated into position at right angles, rotated 90 degrees, lifted, then temporarily supported on consoles fixed to the two outer bridge sections while the central column was built underneath it. Mammoet later returned to lower the span onto the new support.
Each bridge section took about one week to install. Dura Vermeer expects to replace one bridge a year, with the wider Amsterdam Centraal renovation programme expected to continue until around 2030.
