Permit for demolition of Tournai bridge opens gateway Seine-Scheldt project

The passage through Tournai was already being widened but the bridge was the last obstacle. The middle arch of the medieval bridge is too narrow and too low to allow Class Va ships of 110 metres in length, 11.4 metres wide and 7 metres clearance height to pass through. The adaptation of the bridge has been causing controversy for years and several alternatives were examined, including a bypass route around Tournai. In the end, it took another 19 months before a permit was issued to demolish the arches and rebuild them higher and wider. The works will start at the end of this month.