Under contract: Oosterbeek railway bridge

Recently Van der Ende has been commissioned by ProRail for the preservation of the Oosterbeek railway bridge (near Arnhem).

In conformity with the specifications, this fully riveted arch bridge with 6 ramps will be grit blasted to a degree of cleanliness of Sa 2.5. A considerable challenge because the existing preservation layer consists of a so-called flint coating, a sort of of bituminous type layer from 1,5 mm

up to 6 mm thick in some places. Obviously, no paint residues can be allowed to find their way into the environment. The entire bridge will therefore be fenced off, while the trains will continue to run as usual during the activities. This makes the scheduling of all the work and the organization of the safety regime, crucially important.

In March 2011 we will start the pre-treatment and preservation of the bridge. According to planning the bridge will be completed in late 2012. The total surface area to be treated amounts to 30,000 m2.

The history of Oosterbeek railway bridge

The bridge was originally built in 1878 when it consisted of two truss bridges that had a total span of 93.1 metres and four ramps, each with a span of 55.8 metres. The bridge was destroyed by  bombing in the Second World War. After the war the bridge was rebuilt in its present form. The bridge consists of a main span of 130 metres and six ramps of 55.8 metres.