Breukelen Vecht Bridge: Latest technology wrapped in historic look

Over the narrow Breukelse Vecht bridge at the edge of a monumental part of Breukelen, a multitude of cyclists, pedestrians and motorized traffic passes daily. Due to deterioration of the wood and concrete and the many technical malfunctions, the municipality of Stichtse Vecht decided to replace the bridge. Contractor company Damsteegt carried out the replacement of the bridge and engaged Pilz for the complete electrical design, machine safety and control of the drawbridge.

Sizeable puzzle

As the civil contractor on this project, Damsteegt faced quite a few challenges. The company has extensive experience with fixed bridges and has recently added movable bridges to its portfolio. "Here we put a lot of energy into approaching the historical appearance of the bridge as closely as possible, combined with the very latest techniques in the field of control. On the project site itself, there is very limited space. Traffic also had to be affected as little as possible during construction. Quite a puzzle that had to be solved," says Hans de Wit, manager at Aannemersbedrijf Damsteegt B.V. Not to mention the challenges involved in getting the two moving parts of the bridge to fit together properly so that the bridge is suitable for full traffic load. That requires not only specific controls, but also a unique construction. Damsteegt used steel suspension rods so that the interplay of forces could be redistributed. Incidentally, almost all the steel parts of the bridge were built in Damsteegt's own factory.

Construction Team

The municipality opted for a construction team for this tender in order to make optimal use of all the expertise of the parties involved in this project. "Pilz has been involved from the beginning," says Emiel van Zundert, Project Manager at Pilz Nederland. "We discussed various options with all parties involved at an early stage, exchanged knowledge and advice, and made sure everyone knew what to take into account. It ensured that everything fitted together perfectly." De Wit agrees that the mutual cooperation went very well. 

Safe operation of the bridge

The operation of movable bridges, including the Vecht Bridge, must comply with the strict rules of the European Machinery Directive. A good thing according to Van Zundert. "Because a bridge must be able to be operated and maintained safely. Setting up an electrotechnical design, as well as the necessary documents in the field of machine safety and functional safety requires specific expertise." Even at the start of the project, Pilz therefore drew up a risk assessment and supported contractor Damsteegt in the CE process as well as the creation of the mandatory technical file.

Specific control software

The control for the bridge's PLC and operating screen is programmed in Pilz' PAS4000 and PASvisu software packages. Van Zundert: "This control software is specifically aimed at the infrastructure market, using a software library, which includes software blocks for controlling all the sub-installations of a bridge (such as land signals, shipping signals, drives of the halyards, among others, controllers and the brake and retarding positions). The graphical control screen shows both the state of the bridge and any malfunctions." The operation of the control boxes were tested during the FAT (Factory Acceptance Test) at Pilz' site in Vianen. "Here, components of the bridge, such as motors and signals, were connected to the control boxes in order to simulate the practical situation as much as possible. This way you know that the control boxes in combination with the programmed software application are functioning correctly, which saves time in the work you have to do on site." 

Another great project in which Pilz shows what it is capable of. "We are often seen as a supplier, but we are also capable of carrying out the complete electrical engineering of a bridge as well as providing CE supervision and programming. With this bridge, we have realized a compact and safe design with control of two traps, two barriers, seven land traffic signals and two underpass signals."