Wielsbeke / Waregem –
With a roar and a splash, the bridge between Ooigem and Desselgem came to an end on Saturday morning, October 24, around 10 am. The Leie Bridge has to make way for a higher one.
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It did not lead to a tsunami, yet the water splashed high when Saturday morning around 10 o’clock the bridge between Ooigem and Desselgem was killed and ended up in the Leie with a splash. They worked all night to dismantle the bridge deck. The concrete construction was tackled with pneumatic breakers.
At around 10 o’clock, one of the arches on which the bridge deck was hung was finally cut through, after which the other arch was also dragged into the water. It is the intention that everything ended up in the Leie: it is easier to recover everything afterwards. A job that is currently in full swing.
War scene
Shipping traffic will remain at a standstill until Monday morning due to the works. All debris should be cleared by then. The site currently looks like a war scene, but the intention is to quickly prepare the yard for the installation of the new, higher bridge. Because in the context of the inland shipping project Seine Schelde Vlaanderen, the waterway manager De Vlaamse Waterweg nv wants to make shipping traffic possible with three layers of containers.
The new bridge will again be an arch bridge, but this time a steel one.
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