4,000-Tonne Arch Bridge Set in Place Over E40

A 4,000-tonne steel arch bridge was moved into its final position over the E40 motorway at Bertem in the early hours of Sunday 11 October, after the Flemish Agency for Roads and Traffic (Agentschap Wegen en Verkeer, AWV) closed the motorway overnight to carry out the operation. Around 2,000 spectators watched from a designated safe viewing zone, and the E40 reopened to traffic by Sunday afternoon.

The bridge, a bowstring (arch) design, was built over the past months on a construction site alongside the motorway and transported roughly 200 metres to its final spot using Self-Propelled Modular Trailers (SPMTs).

A technical feat in tight quarters

The move itself was slow and painstaking. According to VRT NWS, the bridge is 100 metres long, and its relocation was a “technical tour de force” carried out millimetre by millimetre.

“It is a whole operation, because it is a very heavy bridge of 4,000 tonnes and 100 metres long,” said Anton De Coster, spokesperson for AWV. “It is detailed work, because we have no excess space here.”

The agency’s own release explained that the bridge had to be lifted with jacks before SPMTs could roll it towards the motorway. Because of the weight, the height and the limited manoeuvring room, lifting and moving the structure took most of the night. The same SPMT technology had earlier been used to demolish the old bridge.

The E40 was fully closed in both directions from Saturday 20:00, with traffic diverted onto regional roads. Drivers had been advised to avoid the wider Bertem area. The bridge reached its final position around midnight, and after its height was adjusted the motorway reopened on Sunday afternoon.

Thousands turn out to watch

Rather than risk onlookers gathering in unsafe spots along the motorway, AWV invited residents to a safe viewing zone — a gesture it framed as thanks to a neighbourhood that had lost the use of the Tervuursesteenweg for months.

“We have counted more than 2,000 people here today,” De Coster said. “That is a lot of people who wanted to experience this from the front row. It is also a gesture to the neighbourhood, which has not been able to use the Tervuursesteenweg in recent months.”

Among the spectators was local resident Anja, who told VRT NWS: “I live 4 kilometres away. So yes, because everyone came to watch I thought, I must see it too. It is spectacular, after all.” Other residents from nearby Leefdaal marvelled at the scale of the feat: “You can hardly believe that’s possible, right? 4,000 tonnes and they got it moving. I think that is once in a lifetime in our village.”

A bridge designed for safety and cyclists

The replacement project dates back to early 2025. As part of the works, asbestos was removed over three months from the old bridge inside a hermetically sealed, under-pressure tent before the structure was demolished in January 2026. The new arch design eliminates the heavy pillars that previously stood in the motorway median and alongside the roadway.

“On the E40, the heavy bridge pillars in the median and along the roadway disappear: that makes it considerably safer for motorway users,” project manager Cédric Vaast said when the replacement was announced. “On the Tervuursesteenweg we can now also build separated, wide cycle paths. The new bridge will also be more elegant and beautiful than the current one.”

A colourful landmark

The bridge also carries a colourful mural inspired by local flora and fauna, created by the art collective Treepack. Artists worked at heights of up to 20 metres using aerial platforms.

“The mural is inspired by local fauna and flora,” said Junes Bazouz of Treepack in earlier VRT NWS coverage. “The idea is that the bridge is taken over by plants and flowers that grow over the pillars.” De Coster noted the artwork serves a practical purpose too: “It is a landmark that blends beautifully into the landscape, but it is also a way to discourage graffiti.”

What’s next

While the motorway has reopened, the Tervuursesteenweg that runs over the bridge remains closed for further work, including new cycle paths and the finishing of the Hoppin interchange at the carpool car park. AWV expects the road to reopen by the end of 2026 or early 2027.

Reported dimensions of the structure vary across sources, with the deck spanning the motorway given as about 100 metres and the full structure, including approaches, described at 130 metres long and 30 to 35 metres high. The operation is part of a wider programme of motorway infrastructure upgrades in the region.