A date has now been confirmed for placing the extravagant cycle and pedestrian bridge over joining Brussels to Tervuren over the outer ring.
Flanders’ Extravagant Cycle Bridge bridge, weighing in at 290 tons, is now expected to be placed over the weekend of 21-22 September. And it could be officially opened towards the end of October, once all works are completed.
Logistics should be easier that weekend as Brussels holds a car-free day on Sunday 22 September.
Originally planned for installation on 15-17 March, the Flemish construction agency, De Werkvennootschap, had to recalculate the actual and projected weight of the 77.5-meter-long bridge and other technical details. With the delay, the total cost is expected to move above €5.4 million, with only the bridge itself costing some €2.5 million.
It is unclear how much the delayed installation will finally cost. “The additional costs will mainly be for the contractor, and it is not intended that the Flemish taxpayer will bear the full cost. But as with any project where there is a delay or an error, we will negotiate with the contractor to discuss everything further,” De Werkvennootschap’s spokesperson Marijn Struyf told Tervuren+ [https://facebook.com/
The Vier-Armen pedestrian and cyclist bridge is part of the F29 fietssnelweg, the €17 million cycle motorway, between Tervuren and Leuven. No European money was used for the bridge itself, we are told. But the late King Baudouin’s fund did chip in €494,802.
De Werkvennootschap has placed some 15-20 bridges over the past few years. All went fine apart from Tervuren’s cycle bridge. The Werkvennootschap points to a huge checklist of things that have to be “perfectly okay” or else the Agency delays placing.
The €5.4 million total price tag for the cyclist and pedestrian bridge might sound like a hefty sum for drivers frustrated by the lengthy works. But Flanders recently agreed to €3.5 billion works on the northern Brussels Ring. And that doesn’t include €28 million worth of renovation works on the Leonardtunnel that opened in 1976.
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Dafydd ab Iago
Brussels-based EU correspondent, Dafydd ab Iago founded not-for-profit local media Tervuren+ and Brave News to inspire others to help fill the gaps in local news deserts throughout Europe.
Brave News‘ first micro-level news publication: Tervuren+ https://facebook.com/
“We’re often so badly informed about the most basic things in our towns,” ab Iago says.
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