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Renovation of Van Praet tram ramp in Brussels to start this year

The Van Praet tram stop on the bridge over the canal in Brussels. (BELGA PHOTO DIRK WAEM)
05:50 12/01/2022

The aging tram ramp to the Van Praet bridge over the canal near the Docks shopping centre in Brussels will undergo much needed repairs this year, minister of public works Elke Van den Brandt has announced. The renovations to the ramp, which is used by trams on Stib lines 3 and 7, will cost around €3.6 million.

The renovations will include the demolition of the current ramp and the construction of a new one, including the construction of temporary structures needed to build the new ramp. The contract also includes the reconstruction of the roads on both sides of the slope and of the adjacent roads.

The tram ramp, built in 1978, is 120 metres long and has eleven concrete columns. Over the years, water has penetrated into the structure and the slope has begun to show cracks and other damage rendering it potentially dangerous

The decision to renovate the ramp was taken within the framework of an audit proposed in 2018 by the minister of public works at the time, Pascal Smet.

The audit took into account the state of the 92 bridges and viaducts in Brussels. It showed that three of them potentially posed a danger. In addition to the tram slope on the Van Praet bridge, it also concerns the Petite-Île bridge in Anderlecht, which is closed to car traffic, and the Herrmann-Debroux viaduct in Auderghem.

Written by Nick Amies