Circular tendering for bicycle bridge at Berchem

City of Antwerp investigates circular possibilities for bicycle bridges

The city of Antwerp is committed to the construction of safe cycling infrastructure. This includes the construction of a number of bicycle bridges. Besides criteria such as cost price, timing and user comfort, sustainability is also an important theme in the city's procurement policy. Therefore, circular bridge designs are considered, especially since some of the planned cycle bridges are temporary in nature.

In this context, we want to carry out an exploratory study on circular cycle bridges. By doing so, we hope to answer questions about the technical and procedural feasibility, as well as get an overview of the possibilities and the most appropriate materials and construction techniques for circular cycle bridges.

MOST IMPORTANT
RESULTS

1. The study report includes a list of some 40 highly varied examples of circular (bicycle) bridges at home and abroad. From these, we also derived a shortlist of the most appealing and varied projects.
2. During the study we evaluated a whole range of existing circularity analysis tools and compared a number of possible construction materials for circular cycle bridges.
3. As existing tools did not suffice, we developed our own practical calculation tool to compare different designs in a transparent way in terms of circularity. This tool can be used as an award criterion in tenders.
4. We find it important to focus on dissemination. Thus, the results of the study are actively shared afterwards in order to maximise the chance of application in practice.

MOST IMPORTANT
LESSONS LEARNED

1. During the study we found that none of the existing tools was suitable as a tendering tool for the construction of circular cycle bridges. Therefore we had to develop our own, practically usable tool.
2. In collecting circular examples, we came to the conclusion that circularity is a very broad concept. As a client, it will be important to make clear which aspect is the main focus of a particular project.
3. Before we can effectively start building a circular cycle bridge, we still need to draw up the first construction specifications with circular criteria. But with this study and new tools at hand, this process will be much easier.

1 final report with study results 40 examples of circular bridges 7 construction materials compared 1 new practical analysis tool

WHAT DOES
THE FUTURE HOLD?

With this exploration study, an extremely valuable step has been taken in the transition towards a circular (construction) world. Due to its practical usability, clear structure and the objectification of the complex concept of circularity, our new tool significantly increases the chances of an effective realisation of more circular (bicycle) bridges in the near future.