Thai Belgium Bridge

[The Enforcer!]

Guys,

Can anyone tell me when this was built/opened?

Thanks,

The Enforcer!

[bangyuk]

I am pretty sure it was while I was living in Bangkok. Probably 1989. (I was there 1988 to 90).

Ian

[The Enforcer!]

I thought it was a few years earlier, say 1986-87?

The Enforcer!

[PeterB]

Being a Belgian myself, I took it upon me to find some clues to this bridge. I found it was part of the famous King Leopold II - Bridge in Brussels that was taken down in 1984. The bridge was originally built to cope with expected extra traffic for the World Expo that was held in Brussels in 1958. Built to last one year, it stood for 25 more years until it was replaced by the Leopold II tunnel, now with it's 3,5 KM one of the longest city tunnels in Europe.

As the bridge was originally conceived as an "emergency bridge", taking it down did not mean it would have to be destroyed. It was disassembled and transported to a field next to the Brussels ring way. I still remember seeing it there as a big pile of metal beams.

In 1986, the bridge - or at least some parts of it - were shipped to Bangkok 2to solve traffic problems in the city. This in effect means that parts of the bridge in Bangkok are now over 48 years old...


The rest is still piled up and rusting away in Brussels, as nobody seems to know what to do with it.

The reason why it was shipped to Bangkok is something I could not retrieve in the archives, but I remember it was offered for free, and there was a little row when it turned out the Belgian government had to foot the bill for the shipping costs.

Probably the personal friendship between the Thai king and the then Belgian King Boudewijn could have contributed to Thailand as a destination, and maybe has been the inspiration for its current name.

The bridge was inaugurated on 25 April 1988, and five years after this celebration, a ceremony was held to remember this joyous moment. A medal was created to remember this special occasion. You can see a picture of this medal on this (http://www.medailles-paulhuybrechts.be/medailles.htm) website (second series on the page).

My other source is a news article in the Belgian newspaper “Het Nieuwsblad”. It is in Dutch, but you can find the article right here (http://www.nieuwsblad.be/Article/Detail.aspx?ArticleID=G6A746JB).

Hopes this helps
:)

[The Enforcer!]

Thanks Peter B.

The Enforcer!

[bangyuk]

How times change! If celebrations were held every time a new bridge was opened in Bangkok now, surely the city would come to a standstill!

I seem to remember that the Belgians' cunning plan was to convince the Thais that steel is a great material for road bridges, compared to concrete, and thereby win huge contracts for the export of steel to Thailand. Unfortunately this probably failed to predict the huge rise in Asian steel production! :o