<p>The Van Brienenoordbrug consists of two steel tied arch bridges of 300m span, the east was built in 1965 and the west arch was built in 1990. They carry the A16 highway, a crucial part of the Dutch infrastructure network near the port of Rotterdam. The west arch has been suffering from fatigue in the orthotropic deck and Arup was assigned by Rijkswaterstaat (Dutch highway authority), to design a renovation for the west arch. The renovation required a solution for the orthotropic deck and strengthening of the main load carrying structure. After extensive investigation of the renovation under traffic it was concluded the total execution time of 1.5 years and the accompanying safety risks made it not the best solution. Instead Arup proposed an alternative solution in which the wish for less hindrance aligned with the sustainable goals of both Arup and Rijkswaterstaat. Arup and RHDHV work in a joint venture, the Managing Contractor, on the renovation of steel bridges for RWS.</p>
<p>A common problem in steel bridges is fatigue of orthotropic decks due to heavy traffic demands. Whilst replacing the asphalt with a high strength concrete overlay can solve this problem, it imposes significant additional self-weight. This additional self-weight often requires strengthening of the superstructure which in turn can result in long execution times with associated hindrance and costs. As no existing method addressed these issues Arup engineers developed an innovative solution for Rijkswaterstaat (RWS), the Dutch Highways Authority. The new solution consists of bolting steel plates to the orthotropic steel deck, stiffening it for fatigue. Arup and RHDHV work in a joint venture, the Managing Contractor, on the renovation of steel bridges for and with RWS.</p>
Part of the Netherlands’ busiest highway, the Van Brienenoord Bridge comprises 12 lanes of traffic split across the eastbound bridge built in the 1960 s and the western bridge built in the 1990 s. The Van Brienenoord Bridge complex consisting of two parallel 300 m span steel arch bridges, approach structures and three parallel bascule bridges over the New Meuse. The bridges carry about 230,000 vehicles daily. A strengthening and replacement strategy was developed to reduce road closures to one of the two bridges at a time and reducing this time to weeks instead of months. The strengthening consists of plate stiffeners to the main girders and arches and a new deck. Construction begins in 2025 and will extend the bridge’s useful life to another 100 years. The strengthening instead of replacing is in line with RWS’ commitment to adopting circular economy principles for their infrastructure network.
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