The cycle and pedestrian bridge over Vier-Armen is now expected to be placed over the weekend of 21-22 September. Logistics will be easier that weekend as Brussels holds a car-free day on Sunday 22 September. And the 290 ton bridge is expected to be officially opened towards the end of October, once all works are completed.
Originally planned for installation on 15-17 March, the Flemish construction agency, De Werkvennootschap, had to recalculate the actual and projected weight of the 77.5-meter-long bridge and other technical details. The €2.5 million bridge comes from the German firm Holzbau Amann, based just north of Zürich. And Flanders has to pay a similar amount for placement and other works.
De Werkvennootschap is also expected to organize a public visit of the works on Thursday 22 August and Tuesday 27 August. More information is expected from De Werkvennootschap at a later date.
The Vier-Armen pedestrian and cyclist bridge is part of the F29 fietssnelweg, the €17 million cycle motorway, between Tervuren and Leuven. No European money was used for the bridge itself. But the late King Baudouin’s fund chipped in a €494,802.
De Werkvennootschap has placed some 15-20 bridges over the past few years. All went fine apart from Tervuren’s cycle bridge. The Werkvennootschap points to a huge checklist of things that have to be “perfectly okay” or else the Agency delays placing.
It is unclear how much the delayed installation will finally cost. “The additional costs will mainly be for the contractor, and it is not intended that the Flemish taxpayer will bear the full cost. But as with any project where there is a delay or an error, we will negotiate with the contractor to discuss everything further,” De Werkvennootschap’s spokesperson Marijn Struyf told Tervuren+.
The €5 million total price tag for the cyclist and pedestrian bridge might sound like a hefty sum to those who prefer to drive by. But just before the June elections, the Flemish government agreed to major works on the northern Brussels Ring, which will cost around €3.5 billion. And that doesn’t include the €28 million worth of renovation works on the Leonardtunnel that opened in 1976 .
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