Nijmegen Now Has The ‘World’s Longest’ 3D-Printed Concrete Bridge, And It’s Pretty Impressive

Michiel Van Derkley

The Netherlands does not disappoint when it comes to being leaders in sustainability and making changes for a greener future. The country also tends to stand in the forefront when it comes to aquatic obstacles, with floating office buildings, a Mr. Trash Wheel that gobbles up trash from the city’s rivers, and now a 3D-printed bridge that runs across a canal.

Recently, an engineering company named Rijkswaterstaat, which is the Dutch Directorate-General for Public Works and Water Management, just completed the world’s longest 3D-printed bridge in the city of Nijmegen, and to say it’s impressive is an understatement. The size of the bridge is 29 meters, or approximately 95 feet in length, sitting across the water.

The bridge was also created in collaboration with the Eindhoven Institute of Technology, and planning aid from the Dutch government, and it was designed by Michiel van der Kley in honor of the city earning the title of European Green Capital in 2018.


In order to ensure safety and structural durability on the project, the people involved also turned to an expert in 3D printing buildings, Theo Salet. Salet, who is also a professor of Concrete Structures at TU/e, was also excited to share his thoughts on this revolutionary project.

He shared, “The printing of concrete has enormous growth potential. We use less raw materials because the concrete printer only adds material where it actually supports the construction. We can also drastically increase the construction speed. In the future, we want to make concrete more sustainable and also reuse it. There is much more to achieve. I am also proud that the knowledge developed has found its way to the industry so quickly.”

This new bridge broke the record as the largest 3D-printed bridge, having surpassed the one in China by at least 10 feet. The construction is also proof of 3D printing advantages for governments, businesses and designers since it uses less material than the usual traditional construction methods, as well as giving designers a chance to be even more creative with their creations.

According to Nijmegen City Council member, Alderman Bert Velthuis, “The city of Nijmegen is very honored to receive this innovative 3D printed bridge. We are a city of bridges, and this special, innovative bridge is a wonderful addition. The bridge leads to connection: in the design and construction phase it connected the different partners, and from now on the bridge connects our residents.”

The bridge itself if incredibly interesting to see, considering that its shape and sculpted conical feet make it look a lot like a caterpillar.

As for the CEO of the 3D-printing frim Weber Benelux, he said that the bridge, which was designed on a computer and then printed piece by piece, was then assembled on the final site. It ‘required 50% less material to create’ since the printer knows to deposit concrete only where it’s absolutely needed to ensure the bridge’s structural integrity.


Moreover, the design and mold will also be in the Weber Benelux Nijmegen site for many years still, which means that the bridge can be commissioned and printed more than once with just a few tweaks or changes if needed, and quickly at that. This is a type of reproducibility that is usually rare in such big civic projects, which also means it allow for huge savings when it comes to design, consulting and surveying costs moving forward.

Alderman of the municipality Nijmegen Harriët Tiemens explained in a statement back in 2019 upon the announcement of the bridge, “Nijmegen has had a fantastic year as [it was named] European Green Capital. A new innovative sustainable 3D-printed bridge is a nice addition to this.”

 

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