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Spikerpad bridge: truss with sheet metal
The new Spikerpad Bridge consists of two, self-contained steel trusses connected by a deck made of precast concrete slabs in ultra-high strength concrete.

Spikerpad bridge: trusses with sheet metal

On the N348 Den Elterweg between Zutphen and Warnsveld, the existing Spikerpad bridge has been replaced by an entirely new one. The new bridge is wider, virtually maintenance-free and is also higher on the (existing) concrete supports. Rijnstaal Nieuwegein bv prefabricated the two steel trusses for the new bridge entirely in-house from 20 and 25 millimeter thick sheet steel and assembled them.

The new Spikerpad Bridge consists of two, self-contained steel trusses connected by a deck made of precast concrete slabs in ultra-high strength concrete (UHSB). "The deck is only 11 inches thin. Surely that is quite unique for a bridge almost 45 meters long and 4.84 meters wide," said Anton Gorter, project manager at Rijnstaal. "We were commissioned by Knipscheer Infrastructuur to translate ipvDelft's steel design into an execution design including all welding details and finishes, so that we could produce both trusses at our production facility. An important starting point was that all connections were considered full-through welding."

Complex construction 

Both trusses were cut from an S355 steel plate in J2 grade, Gorter explains. "If you consider that the design also contains different radii, you can imagine that, production-wise, it was quite a complex construction after all. From the execution design, first all plate runs were made with all welding preparations. Then the plates were cut and the plates of the truss construction were rolled, creating the flowing outer edge. Each truss beam actually consists of three segments: a section between abutment and support point (on either side) and a section between the two support points." Incidentally, the supports and abutments were retained after the existing deck was demolished, slightly elevated and fitted with caulking by Knipscheer Infrastructure to support the new bridge. "We were allowed to approach the radius in the middle section from the RAW specifications in six segments, all of which naturally also had to be welded through, just like the rest of the structure."

IMG 4358
Rijnstaal is execution class 4 certified.

Heavy demands

A truss construction with a length of 45 meters is not exactly easy to handle. Rijnstaal chose to split the girders in half lengthwise. "So we actually assembled four beams 22.5 meters long in our factory and fully welded them together. Rijnstaal is execution class 4 certified. Our specialized welders love this type of construction work. From the specifications, heavy demands were placed on the visual aspect and the final finish, as the trusses remain fully in view and also function as handrails. Stainless steel frames were provided in the compartments, which we also fully prepared in our factory and individually fitted into the trusses. After extensive quality control, the four sections were transported to JC Straaltechniek in Flushing and provided with a preservation system. There we then connected the two sections into one large truss. The specifications also allowed us to do this on site, but we thought it would be better to do it under conditioned conditions. Afterwards, the girders were transported by ship from Flushing to Mammoet in Schiedam for final fine-tuning, including the installation of the stainless steel frames and nets by a subcontractor."

In a weekend closure, the two ready-made trusses were driven from Schiedam by special transport to Zutphen where they were hoisted in with a 200-ton crane. Following this, Knipscheer Infrastructure was able to install the USHB concrete slabs and pour the wet nodes. At the end of the weekend, the new Spikerpad bridge was a reality.     

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