Botlekbrug - Vertical Lift Bridge
Facts and Figures:
Place/Country: A15 Motorway, Rotterdam, Netherlands
Completion: 2015
Project type: Movable Bridge
Client: A-Lanes A15 Civil VOF
Description:
The new Botlek Vertical Lift Bridge (Botlekbrug) bristles with superlatives – it has the heaviest weight, the greatest lift frequency and the highest lift speed of any vertical lift bridge. Waagner-Biro was awarded the contract for the design, supply and installation of all mechanical and electrical parts for the lifting mechanism of the movable span, such as the drive components, the guide elements for the bridge and counterweight, all of the electronics and controls and various hydraulic systems. The new vertical lift bridge is the centrepiece of a partly newly built 36-kilometre motorway section near Rotterdam. Construction started mid-2011 and was completed four years later, in July 2015.
With two spans of 93.4m each and a width of 49m, the weight to be lifted is approximately 5000 tons on each side, which represents the entire weight of the Eiffel Tower (10,000 tons). Not only the weight to be moved is impressive, but also the frequency of the openings: the bridge opens around once every hour, or 9000 times per year. One of the most important points is the speed: The lifting height is 31 metres and only 109 seconds are required for the entire lifting or lowering procedure. The highest lift speed is 43.5 cm/s. The bridge was designed to carry four traffic lanes and two hard shoulders as well as a double-track railway line.
