The bridge’s been demolished!

For more than 20 years our mooring in Tournai was at the foot of the medieval water gate. This is where the historic town centre begins. A nice place to start your visit to the city.

Time does not stand still and since the construction of this bridge the ships have become bigger and bigger. The monumental “3-hole bridge” is a bottleneck for navigation.

The city wants to remain accessible for ships up to 2000 tons, in the connection between Antwerp and Paris. How do you keep the passage through the city safe?

A ring canal around the city was envisaged,… or to move the bridge stone by stone to a more suitable place,… or…But in the end it was decided to simply demolish the bridge section between the two towers….

But why is that possible? The bridge has been severely damaged during the 2nd world war. It has been rebuilt, like so many other buildings. But already then the choice was made to adapt the bridge to the shipping industry: the middle passage was enlarged, both other passages were reduced. Also the whole bridge was built more than 1m50 higher…

Because the bridge is no longer original, unfortunately it can just be demolished!

Do you like to pass under the bridge one more time? Sit down and enjoy this video! I recorded it during our very last passage, barely a few days before the demolition…

Later on the quays will be rebuilt and there will be 3 new arches as a symbol for the old Pont des Trous.

The visit to Tournai is part of the trips B, B+ and TD. Here you can find the entire program of these trips.