Three times it was hit this month. Technical malfunctions on the Haringvliet Bridge, which connects Brabant with Zuid-Holland, ensured that cars were stood in a traffic jam on the A29 and ships had to sail for hours. Now the cause has finally been found.
The bridge was renovated for more than 37 million euros in 2023 to handle the increasing traffic. Despite this millions of renovation, the bridge then often struggled with technical malfunctions on the bridge valve. It goes down when high ships have passed by, but a number of times it didn’t happen. For example, the bridge even had a malfunction of more than five hours on 10 May.
Last Friday, the opening and closing of the bridge was extensively tested and the bridge on the highway between Rotterdam and Roosendaal was closed again.
The culprit turned out to be an error in the software, with which two main engines are controlled. “The malfunction could be remedied by building a brief delay in the software, after which the system reacts correctly again,” Rijkswaterstaat reports.
High ships can pass again on Tuesday and Wednesday. The bridge opens every hour between 10 am and 3 pm. The bridge also opens if there are no ships that want to pass, to be able to test as much as possible in a normal situation.
To be sure, a technician will keep an eye on the bridge openings on Tuesday and Wednesday, so that the bridge can be reset quickly in the event of a malfunction and the traffic nuisance will hopefully be limited.