Mechelen (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – From June 2 (7 AM) to June 27, 2025, the Mechelen bridge will be fully closed for repairs. Cars/trucks use Vaartbrug via N35/N43; cyclists use Olsene Bridge for river crossing.
As VRT news reported, starting on Monday, June 2nd, at 7:00 AM, the Machelenbrug, Mechelen, Belgium, will be completely closed to all vehicles, including cars, trucks, and bikes, and will stay closed until Friday, June 27th, 2025. They mentioned that the reason for the closure is to allow for essential maintenance work on the bridge. The initial step involves carefully removing the existing metal bridge joint.
Following this, repairs will be made to the concrete surrounding the joint to ensure the bridge’s structure remains strong and safe. According to officials, this part of the work will take a while because the new concrete needs enough time to set and harden properly before the next steps can be done. They mentioned that once the concrete is fully set, a new metal bridge joint will be installed to complete the repairs.
How will traffic and cyclists cross the Leie during the Machelenbrug closure?
Because the Machelenbrug will be closed for a while, traffic will need to use different routes to cross the Leie river safely. Cars and trucks will be directed to go through Brugstraat, then onto Oude Heirbaan and Wakkense Heirweg, and finally connect to the N35 road.
Officials mentioned that instead of using the Machelenbrug, drivers will need to use the Vaartbrug in Deinze to cross the river. After crossing the Vaartbrug, they will continue on the N35, then take the N43 and Dorpsstraat to get to where they need to go. These new routes have been planned to keep traffic moving smoothly while the bridge is closed.
For cyclists, there’s a special way to cross the river. Instead of the car route, they can use the paths along the Leie river and cross at the Olsene Bridge. They mentioned that this is a quicker and easier way for cyclists to get across, avoiding the longer routes that cars and trucks have to take. Even though the bridge will be closed for almost a month, these different routes will help everyone keep moving across the river without too much trouble while the repairs are happening.
