Rotterdam Will Take Apart a Historic Bridge to Allow Jeff Bezos' Megayacht to Sail Through
The steel industrial structure was originally constructed in 1927.
A historic bridge in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, is about to be temporarily dismantled to allow Jeff Bezos‘ new megayacht to sail through.
As The Washington Post reports, the billionaire has employed Dutch company Oceano to build a new $500 million USD, 417-foot megayacht that’s due to hit the seas this summer, but to do so it would first have to sail through Rotterdam. Unfortunately, the Koningshaven Bridge — known locally as De Hef — is currently in the way. The steel railway bridge was originally constructed in 1927 and was the first of its kind in Western Europe, featuring a middle section that can be raised for ships to then pass underneath. After escaping demolition in 1994, De Hef underwent a major restoration between 2014 to 2017, after which the city said it would never dismantle the bridge again.
Unfortunately, it now seems Rotterdam has given up on that promise, with city spokeswoman Frances van Heijst confirming that the center portion will be temporarily dismantled in order to allow Bezos’ megayacht through. Justifying the city’s decision, Heijst highlighted the economic opportunities such a massive project brought to the region.
“On the one hand, [there is] the economic importance/employment due to the construction of this ship. On the other hand, our concern for De Hef,” she said. “From an economic perspective, we attach great importance to preserving employment.” Naturally, others were not as enthusiastic about the dismantling. “Jobs are important, but there are limits with what you can and should do with our industrial heritage,” said Ton Wesselink, the head of the local history society named Historisch Genootschap Roterodamum.
In other related news, an $11.7 million USD gold cube was on display in Central Park earlier this week.
