16.09.2016
On September 24th, the pedestrian and bicycle bridge Sittard-Geleen will be hoisted into its final position across the railway tracks. The steel bridge has been constructed in four parts at the Jos van den Bersselaar Constructie construction site and assembled into two deck parts. Last weekend, both deck parts were transported by truck to the construction site in Sittard, where they were assembled into one section. The railings of the bridge are made as separate parts and will be composed on site and assembled on the bridge deck. Next Saturday, from 20:00 till 01:00, two cranes by Dura Vermeer will position the entire bridge deck across the railway track. After the installation, a wear layer will be applied on the deck and the LED lights will be installed in the bridge railings. The total weight of the bridge is about 115 tons and it has a span of 30 meters.
The bridge as connecting element
The design of the steel bridge offers four entries to the bridge, and are all merged in to the landscape. The bridge has an hourglass shape and fans out from 4,40 meter width at the center to more than 13 meters at the abutments. The shape of the bridge has an open character that invites a crossing and has a natural and smooth connection to the four inclined entries. The bridge can be seen as the missing link in the recreational cycling network between the town of Sittard and the countryside. The bicycle bridge provides a connection between SportZone Limburg, business park Fortuna, the city center and the districts ThienBunder, Achtbunder and Sanderbout.