That says a spokesperson for Rijkswaterstaat to NH News. This afternoon NH reported that motorists should be back on the brake from Monday for an open bridge, but the ‘operating period‘ is therefore extended.
Something went wrong with a test in which a power outage was simulated. The bridge deck should have stopped quickly when the power failure had stopped, but that did not happen. This has caused damage to a gearbox, so that the bridge cannot be operated safely, writes Rijkswaterstaat.
Also postponed party
The defect is very inconvenient, especially since Rijkswaterstaat had taken everything out of the closet to celebrate the reopening on Monday.
From a terrace on the Ringvaart, Rijkswaterstaat and delegations of shipping companies and from inland shipping would watch the first ship since the closure of a year and a half ago, the bridge. That symbolic moment is now being postponed. The spokesperson cannot yet give a prognosis.
Previously damage to bridge deck
It is not the first time that the bridge has been damaged. That happened two weeks agowhen the contractor accidentally drilled into the concrete steel of the new bridge deck. Since then, traffic has been led over the old bridge deck, which means that there is now temporarily a pendulum in the road and a speed limit of 70 km/h applies.
Also the installation of the new bridge parts, in May last year, did not go from a slate roof. Due to the strong wind, the sample surgery had to be a few times be delayed.