File this under ludicrous but according to several Dutch news outlets, the Rotterdam bridge, known as "Koningshavenbrug De Hef" locally is reportedly being dismantled just so former Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos' luxury yacht can pass through it into the open sea.
Essentially, Bezos' yacht is being built in the city of Alblasserdam, and it can't pass under said bridge because its central section is too tall at its maximum height. As such, the yacht's construction crew from Oceano shipyard and Bezos are jointly petitioning city officials to dismantle the bridge so the vessel can pass through.
Although an official decision hasn't been reached yet, the report claims that city officials have decided in favor of Bezos and will be dismantling the bridge soon. The move already faces strong opposition from local history experts and community members. Ton Wesselink of the local history society Historisch Genootschap Roterodamum, had the following to say:
Jobs are important, but there are limits with what you can and should do with our industrial heritage.
The other alternative is to temporarily remove the yacht's middle section to enable the vessel to pass through under the bridge and then reconstruct it, which would mean engineering effort for Bezos and his construction crew.
The Koningshavenbrug De Hef was originally built over Nieuwe Maas river - a distributary of the River Rhine - back in 1927. The only time it was partly demolished in the past was due to German bombardment in the Second World War, back in 1940.
However, it has gone through several renovations, with the latest one being in 2017. At that time, the city council pledged that it would not dismantle the bridge again and protect its historical significance. It now appears that officials are set to break their promise, if the reports are indeed true.
Source: Rijnmond via Dutch News
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