136 Amsterdam bridges may not meet safety requirements for heavy traffic

136 bridges in Amsterdam may not meet the weight requirements for heavy traffic, Amsterdam's traffic alderman Melanie van der Horst reported in a letter to to the city council this week. Research conducted by the municipality indicated that at least 33 bridges do not meet the criteria. The municipality anticipates that this also applies to 103 other bridges in the city.

Van der Horst emphasized that the results do not necessarily mean that all 136 bridges need to be repaired. The investigation used an "old assessment methodology," she wrote in the letter. It is expected that some of the bridges will meet the desired criteria when assessed using the "new evaluation model" for wooden foundations, taking into consideration the location of the bridges. "A bridge near sports fields or in a park does not need to bear heavy traffic, as long as we document this properly and prevent heavy vehicles from crossing the bridge."

Furthermore, the alderman informed the city council that 1,194 quay walls in Amsterdam are being monitored using satellites. Data from these satellites indicated that 149 quay walls seem to have moved significantly over the past years, warranting further investigation. Of these 149 walls, 90 were not previously identified by the municipality.

The city of Amsterdam has been restoring several bridges and quay walls for a few years, as many of them are in poor condition. In 2019, the municipality allocated hundreds of millions of euros for this purpose. In April, the municipality estimated that approximately 80 to 125 bridges and around 60 kilometers of quay walls would need to be restored over the next 30 years.