The bridge over the Grote Masloot in Bunne is being replaced. On Monday, contractor Vegter Waterbouw from Veendam started work on Kibbelslaglaan.
“We started demolishing the bridge this week,” says Anne Knol, project leader at Vegter Waterbouw. “The spike on the crane breaks the deck, and it is removed in chunks. The traffic that goes over it has become increasingly heavy. After 70 years, the bridge no longer met the requirements. Not because it was broken, but because the values for calculation models have changed.” Traffic is also becoming increasingly heavier.
Knol talks about the demolition approach: “The bridge is full of steel, more steel than concrete. We have a cutting torch, so if the chunks do not come loose, we cut out the steel. Everything is separated: concrete goes through the pulverizer, and steel is removed.”
The demolition will be completed on Monday afternoon. “We then pull out the foundation piles, prepare the earthwork on both sides and start with the new abutments. New concrete piles will be installed, four on both sides, and we will drive them into the ground. The new bridge has a span of 13 meters and is built with prefab beams on which a pressure layer is poured,” says Knol.
A diversion route has been set up during the work. “You can go both ways: via the Bunnerveenseweg and the main road, which remains in use,” Knol explains.
If the weather cooperates, the new bridge should be ready by mid-April.