The Merksem Viaduct on the R1 around Antwerp, built between 1965 and 1969, has been opened for public in 1970. It includes a bridge over the Albertkanaal, consisting of two adjacent structures. As part of the Oosterweel project, a new tunnel will be constructed, requiring the removal of the western part of the bridge while keeping the eastern part of the bridge operational. The eastern part’s superstructure consists out of three spans and is constructed of two curved steel box girders joined by seventy-eight transverse trusses and a continuous concrete deck. The intermediate supports are four individual columns, placed in parallel with the Albertkanaal, make the bridge not only curved but also skewed. Excavation works for the tunnel will cause settlements of the supports, leading to additional forces in the bridge structure. This paper assesses the existing steel-concrete bridge, using a 2.5D FEM model with 2D shell elements. All construction stages were included, evaluating structural safety and sensitivity to settlements.
Cornelissen et al. (Wed,) studied this question.