The Belgian “bridge over troubled roads”
The Belgian “bridge over troubled roads” (Nut Witchuwatanakorn / Shutterstock.com)
The Thai-Belgian Friendship Bridge, once built to relieve congestion on Rama IV Road in Bangkok, has a colorful history. Jumpol Sumpaopol of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration proudly recalls how the bridge was built.
Mr. Jumpol still sees in the bridge the exemplary cooperation of the time, which made the construction of the bridge, at night, 25 years ago, an unforgettable event. The original construction of the 390 meter long viaduct then took less than 1 (one) day. Jumpol speaks of the unprecedented level of collaboration and cooperation of the Belgian government, the Thai authorities and the entrepreneurs involved, who made the construction of the bridge possible in no time.
In 1986, Jumpol was then section chief at Public Works in Bangkok, the then government, headed by Gen. Premier. Tinsulanonda eager to solve the congested traffic flow on Rama IV Road. Bangkok then had fewer roads and other facilities than it does today. There were only a few highways, such as those from Tha Ruea to Bang Na, Din Daeng and Dao Khanong, while the Ratchadipisek ring road around the center of Bangkok was not yet ready. A solution to the then existing problem on Rama IV was not easy.
Then Belgium was the first foreign country to come to the rescue. In Belgium, numerous iron viaducts at intersections were replaced by tunnels and the Thai government was asked if there was any interest in the metal parts of those viaducts to be used again as viaducts in Thailand. “Those iron bridges in Belgium were constructed in such a way that they could be built quickly, but were also quickly moved. It was a technology to be able to build viaducts in a short period of time,” says Jumpol.
The Thai government accepted the offer and decided to build a viaduct at the intersection of Rama IV and Sathon. In Belgium, people got to work and a viaduct was dismantled, called "Viaduct Leopold". Some repairs had to be made and some parts were reinforced to also handle the weight of a 27-ton truck, but in January 1988 the ship arrived in Thailand with all parts.
In the meantime, the necessary earthwork had been done in Bangkok with the foundation piles for the assembly of the four-lane bridge, which was given the name Thai-Belgian Friendship Bridge.
“We started assembly on March 21, 1988 at 19:72 pm and the job was completed before noon the next morning,” says Mr. Jumpol. “It only took XNUMX hours to assemble,” he continues, “although additional works, such as installing the light towers, erecting traffic signs, testing the bridge's load-bearing capacity, increased the total construction time to XNUMX hours. The bridge is not only a symbol of help from the Belgian government, but also a sign of friendship from the Thai officials and business people involved in the project.”
For this project, the Electricity Authority of Thailand and the Port Authority of Thailand provided cranes capable of lifting materials weighing between 160 and 200 tons, two other companies, Empire and Sahachot Beton, sent more than 300 technicians and constructors to the project, while the police ensured the smooth running of the work. Mr. Jumpol supervised this project on behalf of the town hall.
Today, the bridge no longer meets the requirements of the times. Officials decided to give the bridge a new look after 10 years of loyal service and to replace metal parts with concrete, among other things. The metal surface had become smooth after this long use and concrete was chosen, which is more resistant to the demands of today's road traffic. After that, the decades-old, historic bridge will be available for road traffic again.
Source: Bangkok Post
The text Thai-Belgian Friendship Bridge is painted on the side if I'm not mistaken. It is actually quite funny that you can say that you have driven over the same bridge in Belgium and Thailand.
indeed I then worked 100m from the bridge (next to Citroën-Yzerplein) but that was a very long time ago, I had to go home every day in the direction of Rogierplein – Botanique!
And believe me at that time in Brussels it was all rot-ti-maak but less bad than Bangkok I don't get tired of that every year in Bayoke Sky where we start our return journey after the too short leave.
For Belgian readers it might be interesting to know where that bridge originally came from in Belgium.
I found the following story from Het Nieuwsblad on Koekelberg's website:
http://www.nieuwsblad.be/article/detail.aspx?articleid=G6A746JB
There were more of those emergency viaducts in Belgium.
A very well-known (notorious?), for people who are a bit familiar with Antwerp, stood at the F.Rooseveltplaats but was demolished, I think about 7-8 years ago. It also said "temporarily" as an emergency solution for about 30 years.
I also heard that from an Antwerp friend, he mentioned one on the Franselei.
As for temporary, what is non-temporary?
Once a lady from an employment agency came to the office and introduced herself as a temporary assistant. A colleague, who had been employed for almost 40 years, said: “'That's also a coincidence, I'm only here temporarily too'!
He probably means the same thing because the Franselei starts (or ends) at the Rooseveltplaats.
Does anyone happen to know whether that bridge over the F.Rooseveltplaats was also “recycled” (= reused in another place)? I've driven over it thousands of times.
In Ghent there was also an emergency bridge at the Dampoort station. It would only be temporary, but she was there for about 25 years, I think that was the infamous "fly over" you could see into the living rooms when you drove over, she was so close to the houses
It is important to mention that the Prince Couple is leading an important trade mission with an extensive delegation of 150 Belgian businessmen. Brussels Airlines and Thai Airways, both members of the Star Alliance network, today signed an important agreement in Bangkok making Zaventem airport a hub for Thai Airways bound for Africa, Europe or the US East Coast.
The new logo of the Thai-Belgian bridge was inaugurated yesterday by Prince Philippe and Princess Mathilde.
(Source – The Latest News of March 22, 2013)
A few years ago, this viaduct was in desperate need of renovation and even then, with much larger traffic jams than usual, the viaduct was closed for a few weeks.
There's also Italian-Thai, but that's a contractor me. which mainly works in railway viaducts.
It's called King Philip and Queen Mathilde
The article is from before he became King.
By the way, it's Filip or Philippe.
As a Belgian Commercial Attaché in Bangkok, I was closely involved in the negotiations of what we initially called “the Belgian Bridge”.
Ambassador Patrick Nothomb has been a great help in getting rid of administrative stumbling blocks…
I would also like to mention that the two largest Thai construction companies Sino-Thai and Italthai have provided as many workers as we deem necessary for FREE and on their own initiative…
and that several Belgian companies have given considerable financial support for the transport and the “sandblasting” + painting of the metal parts because the BMA did not like the natural protective rust color of the “weathering” steel…
It's been said!
Indeed it was Patrick Nothomb who was then the ambassador there.
We called it the Belgian Thai bride.
These were flyovers as we called them, which were constructed at the time by Nobels Peelman from Sint Niklaas and the assembly company that mounted these bridges was NV Savelkoul from Bree.
This bridge was part of the Koekelberg viaduct that we dismantled and adapted to place in Bangkok
At that time, we installed these types of bridges in the Middle East.
And with a team from the company Savelkoul and under the supervision of this team and together with Thai workers, this bridge of 400 m long was assembled and tested in 50 hours, which was a feat at the time.
I was one of those team leaders at the time and I drove over it in 2018 when I was in Laem Chabang for another job and when I had to get visas in Bangkok for my job.
At the time we slept in YMCA Hotel, but I don't know if that hotel still exists.