Dillinger heavy plate for the new pedestrian bridge in Hazebrouck

The new pedestrian bridge in Hazebrouck, with its 250 tons and its imposing dimensions (75 meters long, 3.5 meters wide and the arch "bow-string" rises about seventeen meters high), replaces the existing pedestrian bridge, almost one hundred years old, which had fallen into disrepair. It was designed to restore the connection between the northern and southern parts of the city and to facilitate access to the train station, to meet the latest safety standards and to strengthen the strategic positioning of Hazebrouck station as a mobility hub for the Hauts de France region and the whole of Inner Flanders.

A giant puzzle

The steel parts of the new pedestrian bridge in Hazebrouck were delivered to the construction site at the beginning of February by six heavy duty vehicles over thirty meters long and then carefully assembled along the SNCF tracks until the structure was erected during the night of April 30 to May 1.

Spectacular installation

About eighteen trucks were needed to transport the huge crane, with a lifting capacity of 650 tonnes, that lifted the bridge into the air, then placed it in one piece on the two massive piers on either side of the railroad tracks. The downtown operation, with road and train traffic, had to be completed within a very tight time frame and required maneuvering the bridge on site to install it over the eight rail lines. The bridge was lifted and installed within five hours.

Dillinger supplied more than 250 t of heavy plate in the steel grades S355N and S355K2+N, in thicknesses ranging from 10 to 35 mm, for this structure, which is located a few kilometers from the Dillinger France plant and has been called locally "the construction site of the century".