Installation of new steel bridge turns out to be a big attraction

In Eigenbilzen, Limburg province, a new steel bridge is being installed today. The huge bridge was assembled elsewhere and will have to be fitted into the right position.

Local residents will be able to cross the Albertkanaal in style, as from the end of November - if all goes well. The project is part of a bigger effort to make bridges higher on 62 locations by 2022, to boost trade by ship. 

The parts of this new construction were transported to a nearby site, where everything was put together. The complete bridge measures 128 metres in length and is 15.60 metres wide at its smallest point. Its arrival allows engineers to make the Albertkanaal wider, to reach 86 metres. It should open in November. 

The Albertkanaal is a busy route for ships. Every year, some 40 million tons of goods are being transported there, which keeps an estimated 2 million trucks off our roads each year - this is about 6,000 lorries a day. 

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