sustainable Michaux Bridge

bridge replacement

The existing Michaux Bridge, a fairly busy bicycle bridge on the outskirts of Almere city, was damaged by an unintended vehicle to such an extent, that it had to be replaced as soon as possible. We joined forces with bridge building company Knipscheer, our partner in an already existing joint contract to design and build all new bridges within the Almere city boundaries.

sustainability

One of the key requirements the city council had, was for the new bridge to be as sustainable as possible. We therefore took a close look at all options, including re-use of parts of the original bridge. Most parts weren’t eligible for recycling, but we did keep the existing foundations. We also used recycled plastic decking.

smart choices

The main outcome of our sustainability-focused approach, however, is the bridge’s structural design.  As the movable bridge only opens about once a year, we decided to go for a minimalistic movable bridge design. Where the original bridge had two towers, we only built one, where it was structurally the most logical choice. On the other end of the bridge, we simply designed two six-legged supports. All-in-all we seriously reduced the amount of building material needed for this bridge.

no thrills

Furthermore, we decided to leave out many of the elements that are usually required in  movable bridges: moving arm barriers, traffic signs and cameras. The mechanism applied to open the bridge is also the most simple one: a gear that can be operated by electrical drill.

specifications

partners: Knipscheer Infrastructuur, Nepocon ingenieurs en adviseurs, Civiele Technieken deBoer
measurements: l=32 m| w=5 m
main span: l=18 m
completion: 2021

project location