The Erasmus Bridge in Rotterdam BW
by RicardMN Photography
Title
The Erasmus Bridge in Rotterdam BW
Artist
RicardMN Photography
Medium
Photograph
Description
The Erasmus Bridge in Rotterdam, Netherlands, from the port.
The Erasmus Bridge (Dutch: Erasmusbrug) is a combined cable-stayed and bascule bridge in the centre of Rotterdam, connecting the north and south parts of this city, second largest in the Netherlands. The bridge was named after Desiderius Erasmus also known as Erasmus of Rotterdam, a prominent Christian renaissance humanist.
The 802-metre-long (2,631 ft) bridge across the New Meuse was designed by Ben van Berkel and completed in 1996. The cable-stayed bridge section has a single 139-metre-high (456 ft) asymmetrical pale blue pylon with a prominent horizontal base, earning the bridge its nickname "The Swan".
The southernmost span of the bridge has an 89-metre-long (292 ft) bascule bridge for ships that cannot pass under the bridge. The bascule bridge is the largest and heaviest in Western Europe and has the largest panel of its type in the world.
After costing more than 165 million Euros to construct, the bridge was officially opened by Queen Beatrix on September 6, 1996. 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 dampers were installed.
The bridge 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". The bridge is also part of The World Port Days in Rotterdam.
In 2005, the bridge served as the backdrop for a performance by DJ Tiesto titled "Tiesto @ The Bridge, Rotterdam". The performance featured fire-fighting ships spraying jets of water into the air in front of the bridge, a fireworks barge launching fireworks beside the bridge, and multi colored spot/search lights attached to the bridge itself.
The bridge was crossed during the prologue and the opening stage of the 2010 Tour de France.
Uploaded
February 5th, 2017
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Allan Van Gasbeck
Congratulations! Your outstanding artwork has been chosen as a FEATURE in the “The Grayscale Outdoors” group on Fine Art America — You are invited to post your featured image to the featured image discussion thread as a permanent place to continue to get exposure even after the image is no longer on the Home Page.