A historic bridge constructed in 1887 and classed as a national monument in the Netherlands is set to be dismantled to allow Jeff Bezos’ brand new luxury yacht to sail past.
As the BBC reports, rumors that Bezos had ordered the yacht from Dutch firm Oceanco appeared last year, with the final vessel measuring 417 feet (127 meters) long and 130 feet (40 meters) tall. Once complete, it’s expected to be the largest of its kind in the world, and that’s exactly what’s causing the problem.
The Koningshaven lift bridge is located on the only route from Oceanco’s facilities to the sea, and the structure isn’t tall enough to allow the massive yacht to pass underneath it. The mayor and Rotterdam’s local authority have both confirmed that the middle section of the bridge will be removed to allow the vessel to pass by before putting the bridge back together again.
The decision to allow the bridge to be dismantled is controversial because it recently underwent a major renovation lasting three years from 2014 to 2017. At the time, officials promised the bridge would not be dismantled again, and yet here we are.
As to why officials have backtracked, the main reason is one of economics. Manufacturing the yacht created a lot of local jobs and they didn’t want those jobs going elsewhere, which suggests plans to take down the bridge were made before construction began.
The dismantling operation is expected to happen during the summer months this year and take a couple of weeks to complete. Bezos will be paying all costs involved in the operation through Oceanco, so at least he’ll be pumping more money into the local economy before sailing off into open waters.
