This weekend saw the successful installation of the new arch bridge spanning the Thomassentunnel and the A15 and N15 motorways in Rotterdam.
The railway bridge forms a key link in the Theemswegtracé, a new branch of the port railway line that is over four km long. The first bridge along this route – spanning Rozenburgsesluis – was installed on 4 April 2020. The first trains are expected to travel down the Theemswegtracé in late 2021.
According to the Port of Rotterdam, this second bridge, of which the steel structure alone weighs 4,100 tonnes, is 269 m long, 13.7 m wide and 28 m tall. It was built by Hollandia, based in Krimpen aan den IJssel.
A video of the installation works performed by Mammoet, can be seen here.
Bottleneck solution
The Theemswegtracé is a €300-million solution to the problems associated with the Calandbrug near Rozenburg. This steel vertical-lift bridge for rail and road traffic in the Port of Rotterdam area is the connecting link in the Betuwe Route to the European hinterland.
For ocean shipping, the vertical-lift bridge forms the gateway to the Brittanniëhaven. “The Theemswegtracé is in line with the Port Authority’s policy to increase the sustainability of Rotterdam’s connections with the hinterland and raise efficiency in rail, road and shipping traffic. In view of the forecast growth in rail freight transport and the increase in shipping movements from and to Brittanniëhaven, the Port Authority believes that rail transport could run into capacity problems. The construction of the Theemsweg Route resolves this bottleneck,” says Ronald Paul, COO of the Port of Rotterdam Authority.
