Recalculating and strengthening of the girder bridges near Hagestein

A busy arterial road, the A27 motorway, runs through the heart of the Netherlands. In order to improve the traffic flow on the A27 between the Houten and Hooipolder intersections, the Directorate of Public Works and Water Management is having this motorway widened. Insofar as possible, the existing infrastructure will continue to be used. As well as three other major bridges along this section, the steel bridges near Hagestein form part of this infrastructure. With the aid of recalculations, Movares studied whether the Hagestein bridges have sufficient load bearing capacity to extend their service life until 2053. Finite element calculations were used to determine, among other things, the strength and fatigue resistance of the bridges.