Bridge with cable tape

Photo and article credit in the original Dutch: Het Financieele Dagblad

Sleeuwijk, The Netherlands - The Merwede Bridge is being reinforced with tape to prevent rust formation. The Merwede Bridge is the first place where the method of reinforcing it with cable tape is applied in the Netherlands.

It is a long-term project. Users of the A27 are not comfortable with it. While the first workers are hanging from the bridge, much uncertainty still rages about the plans to build a two new Merwede bridges between Gorinchem and Sleeuwijk. The arch bridge will connect the provinces of South Holland and North Brabant.

Dick van Klaveren, project manager of the widening of the A27, revealed last week that clarity on the planning and budget needed for the construction of two Merwede bridges will not be available for another three years. A Rijkswaterstaat inspection showed that several suspension cables used to attach the driving deck to the arch bridge were rusting. They are therefore being reinforced now, so that the bridge remains "safe and available" for road traffic until it is replaced in a few years' time. 

This is the first time cable tape, or cable skin, has been used for this purpose in the Netherlands. Experts from Germany are coming to install it. A total of 64 cables are made air- and watertight by this special protective layer. This prevents the rusting process. Normally, the cables are re-coated, a method that requires the bridge to be closed. Not now. The lane remains open.

Read the article in the original Dutch: https://fd.nl/-/1493279/brug-met-kabeltape.