Five Striking Cycling Bridges Nearby

Brain Baking · 18 hours ago · discuss

Our province, Limburg, is known in Belgium for its cycling-friendly environments. This is not just a statement uttered by its inhabitants but also actively pushed forward by politics as one of the many strong points of Limburg: hence Fietsparadijs Limburg (Cycling Paradise Limburg). I am privileged to be able to make good daily use of these cycling paths that normally are neatly separated from the usual road traffic. But it’s not just the greenery or the maintenance of (most) cycling paths that’s striking: it’s also some of the bridges that take you across a national road or a canal that stand out. I thought it would be fun to make a few snapshots to highlight a few of these bridges. 1. Train/Cycling Bridge During the period 2007 to 2024, fifty (!) bridges across the Albert Canal—Belgium’s most important waterway from Antwerp to just above ALiège—were rebuilt to be able to support four-layer container ships, as the previous bridges were too low. See Upgrading of the Albert Canal, an official site of the Flemish Waterways, for more information. One of these nearby recently restructured bridges used to carry trains across the canal. Naturally, it was inaccessible by bikers. The new bridge now carries both trains and humans on bikes across, connecting two sides of the waterway in new ways. It might not be a big deal as the previous (car and cycling) bridge is just about a kilometre away, but this is very convenient for my daily commute. Oh, and if you take a break on top of it, you can peek down inside the courtyard of the adjacent prison. I’m not sure you can throw smartphones and other shady packages that far though. The new and higher train/cycling bridge above the Albert Canal. Left: train tracks. Right: cycling track. Note the waterway below the bridge visible on the lower right. 2. The Lock Bridge A good three kilometres north, you’ll bump into one of the six canal locks needed to accompany for the difference in elevation of 56 metres between Antwerp and Liège. This one, in Diepenbeek, has a lift of 10 metres. The lock control tower on the upper left is not new, nor is one of the many windmill in picture, but the winding cycling-exclusive bridge standing on top of big concrete pillars is. It’s part of the cycling network highway known as the Fietssnelwegen or F network that allows faster e-bikes to speed through at ease without hurting normal bikers like me. Normal traffic can pass on top of the tarmac-laid lock as usual, but for bikers it’s a little bit safer now. Except that you still have to cross that same lane at the end of the bridge, so I’m not sure what they were aiming at here. It’s certainly striking though, especially because of the weird arcs. The cycling-exclusive bridge over the Diepenbeek Albert Canal lock. 3. Below Water Still in the rough area of Hasselt/Diepenbeek/Genk, we find a bridge that’s not really a bridge but rather a way downwards. In the Provincial Domain Bokrijk, you can cycle straight through the water and meet the ducks and swans eye to eye instead of from the usual height. Too bad the sides aren’t made from some kind of translucent material. Our kids love this, and it’s a real tourist attraction. The 'bridge' below instead of above the water? 4. Above The Train Station A bit farther from home, a train ride of forty minutes away, you’ll find the city of Leuven with its many iconic historic buildings including the station. Yet the building itself isn’t the most striking aspect of the station: the three-sixty degrees cycling bridge is, taking cyclists from the station square up towards the business complex nearby. Or how about going even further up, turning right, and cycling above the train station and its tracks to get to the other side of Leuven? As a traveller waiting for your train to arrive at your track, you can literally look up to see cyclists passing by! The only downside of this bridge is the pedestrian stairs cutting through the centre that I used to take to walk towards the station. It’s quite crowded and crossing this bike line can be a challenge. I waited for five minutes before I could take this picture with only a few cyclists in the far distance. The 360 degree bridge at the station of Leuven (taken from the business district). 5. The Campus Bridge Back to our own university college campus. In order to connect the campus with the other side of the busy national road that leads to more parking options and another connecting road to the northern part of Limburg, 1500 tonnes of steel was brought in via the aforementioned Albert Canal to create the Campus Bridge. This dramatically reduced conflicts of the intersection for pedestrians and cyclists and should find a connection with the F cycling highways nearby—the road and infrastructure up to the bridge is currently being rebuilt. The bridge looks more impressive from a certain height as explained on the agency for roads & traffic website. Even though in the photo below it looks like a classic bridge spanning at most 50 metres to cover five car lanes, you’ll be cycling for almost half a kilometre (410 metres) to cross it! The Campus Bridge connecting two sides of a busy intersection in an area with many schools. The photo was taken from the right side where you can take a big ramp up in two parts including a U-turn to reach the top of the bridge, only to cycle back down in a circular style on the far left, reaching the campus buildings of the business department. Fortunately, pedestrians can take a shortcut via two connected staircases in-between the turns. There are even cosy looking benches placed halfway towards the top to enjoy your lunch on a sunny day. Related topics: / bike / By Wouter Groeneveld on 17 September 2026.  Reply via email.