Just over two months after the Houdeng Bridge in La Louvière, Hainaut Province, collapsed while being demolished, preparations for the resumption of work there began early this week, the Walloon Society for Complementary Infrastructure Financing, SOFICO, announced on Tuesday.
Various stakeholders are collaborating closely to make sure that work can resume as soon as possible with a schedule designed to minimise disruption for road users and traffic along the Canal du Centre, which has been closed to navigation since the accident.
The bridge, which spanned the canal and supported the E42/A15 highways towards Charleroi, was in the process of being demolished when it collapsed on 6 March. Judicial experts vacated the site in mid-April, thus paving the way for the resumption of the preparations required for the bridge’s demolition and reconstruction.
According to SOFICO, a new demolition and reconstruction plan for the bridge, based on an analysis of the collapsed structure, is nearing completion by the private company overseeing the project.
This plan, which also includes safety and health measures, will soon be submitted to the Employment, Labour and Social Dialogue Department for approval, so that work can be resumed on the site.
