Heavy lifting and transport company Mammoet helped to replace the single Meulestedebrug in Ghent, North Sea Port, with two drawbridges, offering more lanes for road and bicycle traffic.
The Meulestedebrug is located at the very south of the North Sea Port port area, on the edge of Ghent city centre. The bridge forms an important link in the access to the port, as it allows traffic to travel from one bank of the Ghent-Terneuzen Canal to the other, between the R4-West and R4-East. The bridge is one of the few connections between the two banks, but the old bridge, built in the 1950s, was severely outdated and in need of replacement.
A new, remotely operated bridge consisting of two separate movable sections - one for each direction of traffic - is now being built in its place. The new, all-white Meulestedebrug is almost three times wider than the old one, with five lanes and a 20-metre clearance width.
The northern part of the bridge, consisting of three lanes, became operational in early 2024. Last month, the southern half, with two more lanes, was put into place with the help of heavy lifting company Mammoet Benelux for their customer HEBO. Mammoet loaded out the two southern bridge sections at their fabricator before jacking down the loads onto supports. A video of the remarkable operation can be viewed here.
The new southern bridge half is scheduled to be operational in September, with final completion of both bridge sections planned for the end of 2025.
