Rijkswaterstaat tests Houtense Bridge for Highway Expansion

RTV UtrechtThe Houtensebrug

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RTV Utrecht

NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 14:09

The A27 between the Lunetten and Everdingen junctions was closed for some time last night due to a test by Rijkswaterstaat. A section of the highway will be widened next year, but before this happens, Rijkswaterstaat wants to know whether the bridge near Houten is strong enough for this. The bridge was therefore briefly used as a scale.

The A27 will be widened in the coming years between Houten and the Hooipolder junction near Raamsdonksveer to improve traffic flow. The Houtsense Bridge will also be widened on the west side. It will soon have to be ten meters wider there. Rijkswaterstaat wants to know whether the bridge can handle the extra lanes. To find out, 14 trucks, each weighing 30,000 kilos, were set up last night.

Rijkswaterstaat previously installed measuring points under the bridge. By placing trucks on the bridge, these points worked as a kind of scale. The deeper the measuring points were located, the deeper the bridge bent.

‘Bridges always move’

Such a large weighing test is not often carried out, project manager Don van Hees said yesterday RTV Utrecht. “Bridges always move a little. The Houtense Bridge is no exception. But we want to have a good idea of ​​how it behaves when it bends.”

The calculations indicated that the bridge is strong enough, but to be sure it was also tested in practice. To investigate this properly, the bridge had to be closed, Hees explains. “We can try to measure during a busy rush hour, for example. That is possible in theory, but passenger cars weigh far too little to properly measure the carrying capacity.”

The fourteen trucks have not been in the same place for hours. By moving the vehicles, Rijkswaterstaat got a better picture of the sagging. “So: sometimes evenly distributed over the lanes, other times all on the same side of the bridge. To see whether it will sag or not.”

Measurement data examined

Last night’s measurement data will be examined in the near future. With these results, Rijkswaterstaat knows a little more about the behavior of the bridge, but it is still not definitive whether the bridge can handle the extra lanes. That’s why many more tests are coming. In the lab, for example, they look at samples of the bridge’s concrete.

If the bridge does not pass the test, Rijkswaterstaat will have to think about a solution, writes RTV Utrecht. There may be a new bridge. Or it will be decided not to start the widening at Houten, but, for example, further south.

2023-12-10 13:09:45


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