Arrival of the Botlek Bridge in Vlaardingen

On Monday 9 October, the first section of the old Botlek Bridge arrived at Jansen Recycling Group.
The bridge is being dismantled in collaboration with Vlasman Demolition at Jansen Recycling Group’s decommissioning yard in Vlaardingen.

The first section of the bridge — the lift span, or moveable middle segment — weighs approximately 950 tonnes.
The lifting and transport operations from Spijkenisse to Vlaardingen were carried out by the Matador 3, the largest sheerleg crane operated by Bonn & Mees. In the coming weeks, the remaining parts of the bridge will be dismantled and transported to Vlaardingen. These sections — the approach spans — are significantly larger and taller than the first, each weighing around 2,000 tonnes. The total weight of the Botlek Bridge is approximately 6,000 tonnes.

At Jansen Recycling Group’s decommissioning yard in Vlaardingen, the first section will be further dismantled and scrapped over the coming weeks. The steel will be cut and processed to size, ready to serve as secondary raw material for the production of new steel.

Strategically located in the heart of the Port of Rotterdam — directly on the Nieuwe Waterweg with an open connection to the North Sea — the decommissioning yard offers an ideal offloading point for large, waterborne structures to be dismantled.