Mammoet and Sarens will transport, remove and install steel arch bridge sections weighing up to approximately 8,500 tonnes as part of the major renewal of the Van Brienenoordbrug in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
Rijkswaterstaat awarded the transport and installation contract to the two companies through their SAMEN joint venture. The work forms part of a wider programme running between 2028 and 2033 to renew one of the busiest bridges in the Netherlands.
SAMEN will move the existing and replacement arch bridges between the Duivelseiland bridge yard in Dordrecht and the Van Brienenoordbrug on the A16 in Rotterdam.
The operation will require purpose-built pontoons and heavy lifting systems. At the bridge site, the arches will be transferred into a dedicated bridge-lift structure, allowing the sections to be raised to installation height and positioned onto their piers in a controlled manner.
The first major transport is expected in summer 2030, when the new western arch will travel by water to Rotterdam. The existing western arch will then be removed and transported back to Dordrecht for refurbishment.
Under the current programme, the renovated arch is scheduled to return in summer 2032 to replace the existing eastern section.
The marine route will follow the Oude Maas and Nieuwe Maas, passing infrastructure including the Botlek Bridge, Erasmus Bridge, Koninginnebrug and De Hef. Both transport and installation will depend on weather and tidal conditions, requiring detailed coordination with waterway, rail and road authorities.
“Removing and installing bridge arches of this scale at height ranks among the most complex operations in our sector,”said Jelmar de Vries, Project Director at SAMEN.
Rijkswaterstaat divided the overall bridge renewal into five specialist contracts covering the movable bridge section, construction of a new arch, refurbishment of the existing western arch, transport and installation, and development of the Duivelseiland circular bridge yard.
