VINCI Construction Grands Projets was mandated by the ministry of transport, public works, and water management in the Netherlands to design and build a 16-kilometre section including a composite bridge (steel structure) spanning the Hollandsch Diep (1,190 metres long), two underwater tunnels crossing the Oude Maas and Dordtsche Kil (2,640 and 2,600 metres long, respectively), a 1,000-metre access viaduct, various engineering structures such as bridges and trenches, including the 935-metre Mokhoek open trench as well as 8.5 kilometres of railway infrastructure slabs resting on 27,000 driven piles. This mandate is Lot Number 4 of the HSL project (fourth geographical sector out of a total of five for the high-speed line connecting Amsterdam to the border with Belgium).
In an effort to join the trans-European rail network, Holland has been working on its future transport system. Accordingly, the High Speed Line, located in Belgium, links Antwerp to the Dutch border and extends into the Netherlands.
This project has significantly improved access into the Netherlands, enabling an increasing number of train passengers to opt for an eco-friendly alternative to road and air travel with optimal comfort and safety.
The composite bridge (steel structure) has ten 105-metre spans and two 70-metre end spans. The deck consists of two types of caissons: the first are V-shaped and rest on the piers; the second are rectangular and form the central spans. Each pier rests on four or five driven metal piles, depending on its position in the structure, and is 3 metres in diameter and 40 metres long. Resting on the piles is a rectangular precast concrete caisson that served as a cofferdam for the building of the foundation and drums (concrete poured in place). Deck assembly was a three-stage process: following transport by barge (with the caissons lying on their flank to clear the low roadway bridge located nearby), each pilehead caisson weighing roughly 550 tonnes was raised to a standing position, placed by a crane (standing on its own barge), and stabilised with a gantry system. A winch was positioned at each end of the caissons to raise the 1,200-tonne spans, later attached by welding.
The tunnels and their open-trench access ramps are each a total of 2,600 metres long (including 1,400 metres in the cut-and-cover portion). Given local geological conditions and for financial reasons, these are underwater tunnels.
The tunnel segments were built in a basin at Barendrecht, south of Rotterdam, then conveyed by river transport to the sea and, finally, to their immersion location, a structure on the seabed resting in part on piles.
The Hollandsch Diep bridge signals the return of steel-concrete composite bridges in the design and construction of high-speed rail bridges. This is the HSL’s longest bridge: it spans the river at a location between a road bridge and a railway truss bridge built in 1868, not designed to handle high-speed rail traffic.
Thanks to this large-scale project, the high-speed rail line connects major European cities and reduces travel time between them. Construction of many high-speed rail lines in Europe, such as the CTRL project, is helping to create a fast and high-quality transport system linking major European hubs.
This project was also focused on environmental protection. In the west, the Hollandsch Diep river joins the Haringvliet river and, in the east, it is adjacent to Biesboch National Park. The Park is part to the country’s network of protected ecological zones. Consequently, measures were taken in proximity to the rail bridge’s abutments to protect the area’s ecological bounty. On the north and south banks, artificial beaches were created to reinforce the ecological corridor from Biesboch Park to the west. On these artificial beaches, interesting species grow unaided in the wetlands, including reeds and willow bushes. Other zones were developed below the abutments to provide dry passage to deer and small mammals.
Client
Ministry of Transport, Public Works & Water Management, The Netherlands
Implementation dates
June 2000 to May 2005
Earthworks
2.75 million m³
Riprap
235,000 t
Concrete
395,000 m³
