Photo courtesy of WikiMedia Commons
Jeff Bezos has put forward a proposal to dismantle the Koningshaven Bridge of Rotterdam, Netherlands in order to transport his new superyacht.
By Hannah Raykher ’23 & Qingyun Shi ’23
Staff Writers
Rotterdam, a city in the Netherlands, is mulling over a request to dismantle part of the historic Koningshaven Bridge to allow for a superyacht owned by Jeff Bezos to leave the shipyard, according to CNN.
The superyacht, known as Y721 is currently being constructed by the Dutch builder Oceansco, according to Bezos’ 2021 book “Amazon Unbound.” The yacht is expected to be a 127-meter schooner with 3 large masts — too tall to fit under Koningshaven bridge. If the deconstruction takes place, the disassembly fee for the bridge will be paid by Oceanco.
Some Rotterdam locals are showing their opposition to the potential of taking the bridge apart. According to NPR, almost 4,000 people have signed up for a Facebook group that plans to throw eggs at the boat if the bridge is dismantled.
Corrine Liu ’23, a student interested in International Relations, discussed the role that billionaires should play in local communities like in Rotterdam.
“I don’t think any billionaires, let alone billionaires not living [in] or deeply connected to a specific place, should be allowed to influence the place's local issues,” Lui said. “They neglect to consider long-term ramifications of their choices on the local infrastructure and community.”
This is not the first time that the Koningshaven Bridge, known locally as “De Hef,” has been threatened. According to The New York Times, the bridge is 95 years old and was designed as a railway bridge. In 1994, the bridge was set to be destroyed but was saved by protests and named a historic national monument.
Although the bridge was not designed to be deconstructed, it contains certain architectural features that would make the project easier than other bridge deconstruction endeavors.
Architecture professor Naomi Darling discussed what the dismantling of the bridge might look like.
“Dismantling most bridges would be time-consuming and labor-intensive, the degrees of which would depend upon the type of bridge,” Darling said. “The Koningshaven Bridge in Rotterdam is a lift bridge, which means it was designed so that the central portion can be lifted to accommodate ships passing below. Since the mid-section can be raised and lowered on cables and is already a separate unit, dismantling this type of bridge would be much simpler than most as long as the central truss is kept as one unit.”
Dismantling the Koningshaven Bridge would be a difficult but not impossible task. A final decision is yet to be made by the Dutch city.