At the Brielmeersen, the Leie splits into a navigable section that flows fairly straight towards the Ghent-Bruges canal and a touristic section that meanders through the center of Deinze further towards Sint-Martens-Latem and Drongen. It is over that latter section that De Vlaamse Waterweg, in collaboration with the city of Deinze, is constructing the new Brielpoort bridge for slow traffic. To allow larger pleasure craft and limited commercial shipping to pass through, the bridge can open on one side. The opening section of the 4-meter-wide bridge has a length of 22 meters. The bridge normally opens on 2 screw jacks, but 1 screw jack is sufficient to continue functioning in case of a possible defect or during maintenance.
Abutments
BM Engineering Group as Civil Engineering consultancy was appointed by the main contractor to further develop the stability of the plans for the concrete abutments. On the left bank, the abutment contains the basement in which the electromechanical and hydraulic equipment for opening and closing the Brielpoort bridge is installed. The abutment on the right bank is solely intended to support the bridge when it is lowered. To produce the execution plans, we started from the 3D models of the concrete elements and the steel bridge structure that the main contractor had received from the client. In consultation with the main and subcontractors, we merged them into one model. This allowed us to create detailed formwork and reinforcement plans without clashes and to ensure that the steel bridge connects perfectly to the concrete structures.
For the stability and strength of the latter, the forces of the moving Brielpoort bridge had to be taken into account, but they are also reinforced against accidental collisions. To safely place the steel bridge in position, BM Engineering Group was also asked to calculate where on the bank the crane had to be positioned. After placement, the concrete cover above the machine room still had to be poured. This was also taken into account in the execution plans. The steel Brielpoort bridge was brought into place on 21/09/2020 and has been operational since March 2021.
Construction partners:
* De Vlaamse Waterweg nv in collaboration with the city of Deinze – client * Herbosch-Kiere & EGD – main contractor(s) * B-Line Metal Constructions – subcontractor steel construction bridge * Vandezande – subcontractor EGD regarding electromechanics bridge * Bosch-Rexroth – subcontractor EGD regarding hydraulics bridge * BM Engineering Group – stability, exchange and coordination of 3D plans
