Exceptional lattice towers for high-voltage grid

Elia’s Brabo project in the port of Antwerp had two important objectives: firstly, to increase the capacity of the high-voltage grid and thereby guarantee security of supply for the entire Antwerp port area, and secondly to reinforce the north-south axis of the Belgian high-voltage grid and strengthen the international European interconnections between electricity systems. Phase II of the project called for the construction of 58 new lattice towers, including four that were very special: the P2 and P3 high-voltage pylons for the Scheldt crossing were 192 metres high, making them the tallest in the Benelux area, whilst the P4 and P5 pylons for the Kanaaldok crossing were each 142 metres high. The pylons were designed in L-profiles made of S355J2 steel with maximum dimensions of L300x300x35. The two tallest weigh 572 tonnes apiece and are made up of 15,026 pieces – the longest of which is 12 m long – fastened together with 58,987 bolts.