Shepherd's Bridge

So-called "Shepherd's Bridge". The original bridge was designed by Charles Piens, engineer at the Bridges and Roads Department. The construction was made of steel and the tread was finished with planks. The bridge consisted of two parts: the actual swing bridge, where the spindle rested on a brick pillar, and a fixed bridge resting on a second pillar. On the right bank, two large neo-Gothic houses were built for the bridge turners. At the end of the First World War, the Herdersbrug was destroyed. In 1922 the restored bridge was reopened. During World War II, the bridge was blown up again. She was restored in 1948. The neo-Gothic house of the bridge keeper was destroyed by fire and replaced by a two-family house designed by architect Hendrik Bovée (Bruges). In 1994 the construction of the current Herdersbrug started on behalf of the MBZ and designed by the Ministry of the Flemish Community. The new bridge has a fixed concrete substructure consisting of an abutment, a fixed bridge, a central pillar and a basement abutment in which the steel upper bridge rotates vertically. After the restoration, the old bridge was placed on electrabel's industrial sites near the new Herdersbrug.

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