Temporary Suurhof bridge over A15 / Rotterdam put into operation

December 15, 2020

We are working hard on the Suurhof bridge over the A15 / Rotterdam; at the new gateway to the Maasvlakte. The STIPT contractor consortium will renovate the existing bridge and build a second bridge next to the Suurhoff bridge. In this way, the burden of (freight) traffic can be divided in the future and safety is guaranteed. The new bridge is currently under construction in Krimpen a/d IJssel and preparations are being made on site for the placement of this second bridge and its integration into its surroundings.

The Suurhoff bridge over the Hartel Canal forms an important link in the A15 between the Maasvlakte on the one hand and the western part of Voorne-Putten and Botlek, Europoort and Rotterdam on the other. It is the only connection with the Maasvlakte and for that reason indispensable for the Rotterdam port area and the rest of the Netherlands. Since its opening in 1973, the current bridge has been heavily and intensively loaded and is in dire need of replacement. It will be renovated in the course of 2020 and 2021 and will be fitted with a temporary steel arch bridge with a span of 200 meters next to it.

MTD landscape architects has been asked by the Combination STIPT (Dura Vermeer, BESIX, TBI, Hollandia) to draw up a more detailed elaboration for this temporary connection or, in other words, to develop, in close collaboration with the Combination and the disciplines of road design and structural Draw up a VO / design vision.
The design emphasizes the integration of the bridge in the Europoort / Maasvlakte area and Hartelkanaal and the attachment of the temporary bridge to the surrounding area. In particular, attention has been paid to the connection to the BP head office sites in the north. This office building has been incorporated into a gigantic dune landscape, based on an earlier design by MTD landscape architects. In the south, the bridge will be connected to the Spuisluis en –kom from the Hartel Canal to the Brielse Meer.
The bridge itself has been designed on a family of separate components such as the arch, noise barrier (s), roads and cycle path, hangers, lighting, edging and railings. Within the technical preconditions set for the bridge, a logical and aesthetic coherence of elements for the users has been sought; both for freight traffic to the Maasvlakte and for recreational bicycle traffic. The process involved intensive consultation with the various disciplines within the contractor consortium and with the client (Rijkswaterstaat). The design was presented and tested by the Q-team of the Port of Rotterdam Authority.

The entire bridge will be sailed from the shipyard in Krimpen aan den IJssel to its final location on the Maasvlakte next spring; straight through Rotterdam.