KWS awarded contract to renovate bridge over River Waal
The Dutch department of public works has awarded the contract for the renovation of the Waalbrug – the bridge over the River Waal in Nijmegen – to KWS, part of Royal VolkerWessels. The contractor will undertake the renovation work in such a way that the four existing lanes stay open to cars and public transport buses as much as possible. While this will limit disruption, some disruption to traffic is inevitable and the City of Nijmegen and the department of public works will take accessibility measures to mitigate this. The renovation work will last until the end of 2019.n to its original state wherever possible.
Four lanes
KWS scored the best on the various selection criteria, including minimising disruption. In order to achieve this the contractor has designed a plan under which not the minimum requirement of two but the current four lanes will remain largely open to normal traffic. In the evenings and at night, when there is less traffic, only two lanes will be open and there will be a number of weekend and night-time closures. HGVs, coaches and agricultural vehicles will not be able to use the bridge during the renovation work but it will remain open to public transport buses, emergency services, cyclists and pedestrians.
Planning
The renovation project is scheduled for 2018 and 2019. Work on the bus lane will start at the end of February 2018, but this will cause little disruption to normal traffic. That will change when KWS carries out work to replace the concrete road surface between April 2018 and the autumn of 2019. There will be no work on the bridge during the Four-Day Marches event. The renovation is scheduled for completion at the end of 2019.
Working together
The department of public works and the City of Nijmegen are collaborating to ensure the city remains accessible. Renovation of the 80-year-old Waalbrug is necessary to ensure that traffic can continue to cross the bridge quickly and safely in the future. As the owner of the bridge, the department of public works is responsible for the maintenance work, while the City of Nijmegen is the authority responsible for the road traffic crossing the bridge. The renovation work to be undertaken by contractor KWS will include replacing the concrete road surface and painting the steel structure. In addition it has been commissioned by the City of Nijmegen to convert the bus lane into a two-way cycle path and to restore the design.