Railway line and footbridge over the Senne

PHOTO: Railway line 27B and the very last remaining pedestrian bridge over the Senne between Weerde and Hofstade.
On the other side of the railway line (south-west, towards the Schumanlaan) there was a second crossing over the Senne (water transport), which was demolished in 2010.

Between Zemst - Weerde and Hofstade - Elewijt there are two natural barriers that are close to each other and difficult to bridge: Zenne and Barebeek (= Dyle basin).

Over time, these natural barriers have been 'bridged': The online Ferraris maps of 1778 (http://www.kbr.be/collections/cart_plan/ferraris/ferraris_nl.html ) show this:
Connection Weerde Elewijt:
-->The crossing of the Senne from Weerde was an extension of the Dorpstraat over the Senne to the Hauwlandweg;
-->then turn right upstream along the Senne towards Eppegem and Elewijt;
-->and before Elewijt they took a little further left to the Rubens Castle (bridge over the Barebeek); then turn left onto the Steendreef to Elewijt (now E19 tunnel shaft).
Connection Zemst Hofstade or Weerde Hofstade:
-->The crossing of the Senne for the people of Weerden was more northerly, along the Heidestraat to the old Brusselsesteenweg;
-->the people of Zemst also took this Zenne bridge in the direction of Mechelen (demolished district 'de Brug');
-->then turn right upstream of the Senne (current E19), with a little further on a left northwards to and over the Barebeek (Zemstseweg, current Barebeek footpath).

Railway line 27 (Vilvoorde Mechelen) was relieved in 1907 by the new line 27B (Weerde-Muizen-Mechelen-St.-Kat.-Waver, see http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spoorlijn_27B).
For this purpose, not only the ponds in Hofstade were excavated, but also new slow roads were built along the new line to better bridge the Senne and Barebeek.
This new slow road shortened the route considerably, and was used for generations: Better train connection from Weerde, easy and
Extremely short access to the adjacent village centres,... During the heyday of 'Hofstade-Bad', this slow road was the shortest way to the beach and Old Belgium.
Progress, comfort and safety: hand in hand!

In the 1970s, the E10 (current E19) was built. The immediate adverse effects were, for example:
for Zemst-Hofstade: the demolition of the district 'de Brug', the closure of the Zemstsebaan (slow road) to Hofstade;
for Weerde-Hofstade: the Schumanlaan expressway cuts the village centre of Weerde in half, the slow road along line 27B has been closed.

21st century: Nearby residential areas, nature and recreation areas are closed off; New mobility needs at the supra-municipal level are imperative.
Progress, comfort and safety: hand in hand?

About the construction of the E19 that cut off all slow roads between the neighboring municipalities of Weerde and Hofstade, see: http://wegen-routes.be/doss/A1n.html

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