The installation of the main section of the Suzan Daniel Bridge over the Brussels Canal is scheduled to be completed by Sunday, according to Beliris, the Belgian Government’s arm in charge of special construction projects.
The installation of the 1200-tonne bridge, which will be 60 metres long and 15.5 metres wide, was launched late Friday afternoon at a ceremony at the nearby Quai des Peniche. In attendance were Federal Minister Karine Belieux, and Brussels Region’s ministers in charge of public works, Elke Van den Brandt, and Alain Maron (Brussels Port).
The bridge began moving at 3.50 PM on Friday, according to Beliris spokesperson Marianne Hiernaux.
“It had been loaded on transport trucks the day before and was able to be lifted a bit from 3.30 p.m. on Friday, and the pivot began to position it over the canal. The operation will continue until around midnight. It will be placed on provisional supports, then on Saturday and Sunday, these supports will be anchored,” she explained.
Traffic along the canal, closed since Thursday evening at 6:00 PM, will reopen on Monday morning.
The secondary decks will then have to be built. They will span the quays on either side of the canal, running from the Quai de Willebroeck to the Avenue du Port. The entire project should be completed by the end of this year.
Once finished, the new bridge will be an important link between the Nord and Tour Taxis neighbourhoods. Minister Karine Lalieux, whose portfolio includes Beliris, noted that “these bridges and overpasses are redrawing Brussels, a richly multicultural city.”
Minister Elke Van den Brandt recalled that “the canal was a dividing line for our city for too long.”
Presented as an example of sustainable mobility, the bridge will be open to pedestrians, cyclists and public transport.
Its name was chosen through a public competition launched by the City of Brussels.
Suzan Daniel is a pioneering activist of the LGBTQI+ movement, which represents lesbians, gays, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersexual people, and others.
The amount allocated for the entire project comes up to 9.4 million euros.
The Brussels Times
