The Schaapsdale Bridge is located in the northwestern part of the city of Bruges, where the district road N9
crosses the Ghent-Bruges-Ostend canal and enters the city.
This project has arisen from the city's wish to renovate Scheepsdalelaan, the section of the N9 located within
the ring road around the city. The primary goals for this renovation are to improve the flow of public transport
and to build a safer, more comfortable bicycle infrastructure.
The existing Schaapsdale Bridge is a remote-controlled swing bridge. It is extremely outdated and has a limited
transverse section, resulting in bicycle and road traffic having to share two very narrow lanes. Because the
bridge is used by numerous buses, heavy traffic and many cyclists, it no longer meets the comfort or safety
requirements. The bridge creates a bottleneck in the flow of traffic to and from the city.
This contract is for the construction of a new Schaapsdale Bridge at the current location.
Considering that the waterway must remain navigable for class IV container ships and considering the
surrounding development and traffic infrastructures on both banks, the client has once again opted for a moving
bridge. The transverse section of the new bridge will be determined by the new layout of Schaapsdalelaan, and
should have a total width of approximately 15 m. At the site of the bridge, the canal is approximately 36 m wide.
The designer will determine the type of bridge to be built.
The bridge will become a landmark on one of the main access roads into the city.
It is expected that the designer will pay careful attention to and make a valuable contribution to the visual
integration of the bridge into its environment, keeping in mind the historic significance of the site.