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New railway overpass in Molenhoek successfully installed

01.07.2026

Swietelsky Rail Benelux has recently reached an important milestone in the ‘Maaslijn Upgrade’ project. In the municipality of Mook en Middelaar, two new parallel bridges over the railway were lifted into place with the utmost precision in a single weekend. It was an impressive logistical and technical operation that, despite extreme weather conditions, was completed flawlessly and on schedule.

Safer traffic and space for electrification

The Maaslijn is one of the busiest regional non-electrified railway lines in the Netherlands. Commissioned by ProRail, Swietelsky is carrying out a large-scale upgrade of the line. The old overpass in Molenhoek was too low for the future overhead lines and created a cramped traffic situation.

The new overpass resolves both bottlenecks. The two new adjacent steel bridges physically separate car traffic from cyclists and pedestrians, significantly improving road safety. In addition, the raised structure now provides sufficient clearance for the electrification of the railway.

Technical precision in numbers

The transport and installation required exceptional precision and craftsmanship from the Maaslijn project team:

Cyclist and Pedestrian Bridge: 26.5 metres long, 4.75 metres wide, 2.00 metres high | Weight: 39 tonnes
Road Bridge: 26.5 metres long, 4.10 metres wide, 2.00 metres high | Weight: 45 tonnes

The bridge sections were transported by road using specialised haulage and carefully installed on the newly constructed abutments with the help of a heavy-duty telescopic crane.

Flexibility and safety in extreme heat

The planned lifting operation coincided with a weekend of extreme heat. Because the safety and well-being of everyone on site are always the highest priority, Swietelsky worked with safety experts to immediately establish a heat protocol.

To avoid the most intense heat, the work was moved to the early morning hours. Assembly of the telescopic crane started at 5:00 a.m., and by around 7:00 a.m. the first bridge section was already suspended in place. Thanks to this flexible planning and the efforts of around 15 directly involved specialists, the job was completed quickly and safely. Local residents and interested viewers were able to follow the entire operation live via an online construction webcam.

Distinguished visit

The successful installation of the overpass did not go unnoticed. On the Monday immediately following the lifting weekend, State Secretary Annet Bertram of Infrastructure and Water Management, together with officials from the provinces of Limburg, North Brabant and Gelderland, as well as the municipality of Mook en Middelaar, paid an official working visit to the construction site. Representatives of ProRail and Swietelsky briefed the delegation on the project’s progress and technical challenges.

Official opening and looking forward

The coming weeks will be used to complete the finishing works and the layout of the surrounding roads. On 17 July, the overpass will be officially and ceremonially opened by the Mayor of Mook en Middelaar and the management of ProRail and Swietelsky. Immediately afterwards, the Heumensebaan will be reopened to all traffic, exactly in time for the Nijmegen Four Days Marches festivities.

For Swietelsky’s project team, however, there is little time to stand still. From 25 July to 23 August, an intensive 29-day rail closure period is scheduled. During this time, work will continue around the clock on, among other things, track doubling, platform extensions at Nijmegen Heyendaal and Cuijk, the removal of switches, and the installation of the first contact wires for electrification.

Swietelsky Rail Benelux thanks its partners, including Den Ouden Infra and Bersselaar Constructie BV, for their excellent cooperation during this successful milestone.