Rotterdam historic bridge to cross Jeff Bezos yacht to be demolished

The city of Rotterdam announced today that a historic bridge in the Dutch port city will be temporarily dismantled to allow the passage of a ship, a huge sailboat built for former Amazon President and CEO Jeff Bezos, according to local media. information.

The flagship bridge, dating from 1878, which was repaired after its bombing in 1940 during World War II, is too low for the American billionaire's luxury yacht, which is worth 430 million euros, to cross. according to local media.

The shipbuilding company asked the municipality of Rotterdam to temporarily dismantle the bridge, removing its central section so that the ship could pass underneath. "This is the only passage to the sea," a spokesman for the municipality of Rotterdam told AFP, adding that the costs of the operation would be borne by the shipbuilding company.

The yacht is currently being built in Alblasserdam, near Rotterdam, and is expected to spend the summer under the Kινnigsawenbrug bridge, which is too low for the three-mast sailboat. The municipality agreed to dismantle the bridge, although it had promised after a major renovation in 2017, that this artifact, known as De Hef to Rotterdam residents, would never be dismantled again.

The City of Rotterdam noted the economic importance and the jobs created by the yacht construction and assured that the bridge would regain its current form.