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The Erasmusbrug ("Erasmus Bridge") is a cable stayed bridge across the Nieuwe Maas river, linking the northern and southern halves of the city of Rotterdam, Netherlands.
The Erasmusbrug was designed by Ben van Berkel and completed in 1996. The 808 metre long bridge has a 139 metre-high asymmetrical pylon, earning the bridge its nickname of "The Swan".
The southern span of the bridge has a 89 metre long bascule bridge for ships that cannot pass under the bridge. The bascule bridge is the largest and heaviest in West Europe and has the largest panel of its type in the world.
The bridge was officially opened by Queen Beatrix on September 6, 1996, having cost 165 million Dutch guilders (about 75 million Euros) to construct. Shortly after the bridge opened to traffic in October 1996, it was discovered the bridge would swing under particularly strong wind conditions. To reduce the trembling, stronger shock dampeners were installed.
The bridge was featured in the 1998 Jackie Chan film Who Am I? In 2005 several planes flew underneath the bridge as part of the "Red Bull Air Race".
Rotterdam is, in terms of population, the second largest municipality in the Netherlands after the capital, Amsterdam, and the largest city in the province of Zuid-Holland (South Holland). The city has the largest port of Europe. It became the world's busiest port in 1962, until it was first overtaken by Singapore, and then by Shanghai since the 1990s. It is situated on the banks of the river Nieuwe Maas ("New Meuse"), one of the streams in the delta formed by the Rhine and Meuse rivers. The name "Rotterdam" derives from the city's origin at a dam in a small tributary river, the Rotte. Wikipedia |
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