Bunker in the bridge
In the Belgian village of Vroenhoven near Maastricht, the construction of a new bridge over the Albert Canal includes moving a bunker. CEI-De Meyer is replacing the characteristic arch bridge as part of a canal-widening project. The contract value is 22 million euros.
The sliding method will be used for both the bunker and the new 195-metre steel bridge. The bridge will be built in forty metre sections and moved up into its temporary position. Once the old bridge has been demolished, the whole new bridge, weighing 2,200 tonnes, will be slid sideways into its final position.
Because of its historical significance, the bunker, along with a museum and an open air theatre, will be included in the new abutment on the western bank. It will also feature a climbing wall. This is the spot where the first Belgian soldiers died when, for strategic reasons, German paratroopers attacked and took the bridge in the early morning of 10 May 1940.