Erasmusbrug

The {{convert|802|m|ft|adj=mid|-long}} bridge across the New Meuse was designed by Ben van Berkel and completed in 1996. The cable-stayed bridge section has a single {{convert|139|m|ft|adj=mid|-high}} asymmetrical pale blue pylon with a prominent horizontal base, earning the bridge its nickname "The Swan".{{cite book |editor1-last=Gannon |editor1-first=Todd |title=UN Studio/ Erasmus Bridge, Rotterdam, The Netherlands |date=March 2004 |publisher=Princeton Architectural Press |isbn=156898426X |pages=1–176 |edition=Source Books in Architecture (Book 4)}}

The southernmost span of the bridge has an {{convert|89|m|ft|adj=mid|-long}} 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.{{cite web|title=The Erasmus Bridge; success factors according to those involved in the project|url=http://etcproceedings.org/paper/the-erasmus-bridge-success-factors-according-to-those-involved-in-the-project|publisher=European Transport Conference|access-date=7 November 2012|author=M de Jong, J Annema|year=2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121018100801/http://etcproceedings.org/paper/the-erasmus-bridge-success-factors-according-to-those-involved-in-the-project|archive-date=18 October 2012|url-status=dead}} 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.{{cite journal |last1=Geurts |first1=Chris |last2=Vrouwenvelder |first2=Ton |last3=van Staalduinen |first3=Piet |last4=Reusink |first4=Jaco |title=Numerical Modelling of Rain-Wind-Induced Vibration: Erasmus Bridge, Rotterdam |journal=Structural Engineering International |date=February 1998 |volume=8 |issue=2 |pages=129–135 |doi=10.2749/101686698780489351 |quote=Shortly after completion. the main span cables of the Erasmus Bridge in Rotterdam showed aerodynamic instabilities with large amplitudes. These instabilities were recognised as rain-wind-induced vibrations. Temporary measures were installed on the bridge, and a year later, tuned hydraulic dampers were mounted as a permanent solution.}}

File:Erasmusbrug (15284241616).jpg

During the preliminary design process, many alternative designs were developed. In 1990, one of the review architects, Ben van Berkel, revealed his own design, which was similar to the one Santiago Calatrava used for the Alamillo Bridge in Sevilla, Spain: a single pylon positioned on one side of the river with a backward lean. Because the initially designed 150-m-high concrete bent pylon was to act as a counterweight for the 284-m span, the pylon had no back stays.{{cite journal |last1=Reusink |first1=Jaco |last2=Kuijpers |first2=Martin |title=Designing the Erasmus Bridge, Rotterdam |journal=Structural Engineering International |date=November 1998 |volume=8 |issue=4 |pages=275–277 |doi=10.2749/101686698780488794 |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.2749/101686698780488794 |access-date=15 May 2020 |quote=The Erasmus Bridge is the result of an unusual design process in which architects and engineers interacted as equals. In the end this resulted in a bridge that evidences a full commitment to both technical and aesthetic standards.}}

In the subsequent engineering feasibility study, a number of significant design changes were made. Most importantly, live loads, like 60-ton trucks, would introduce tremendous bending forces into the backward leaning pylon; therefore back stays were added to minimize bending forces. The 150-m-high concrete pylon was changed to a 139-m-high steel pylon. The overall appearance of the bridge design remained intact, however, which proved to be the decisive factor for its selection. In November 1991, the city council chose the highly ambitious backward leaning bent pylon shape and made available the necessary additional funds for the asymmetric bridge.

The Erasmus Bridge is the result of an unusual design process in which architects and engineers interacted as equals. In the end this resulted in a bridge that evidences a full commitment to both technical and aesthetic standards.

File:Erasmus bridge Rotterdam 2018 2.jpg, De Rotterdam, and the New Orleans.]]

The thin deck profile was not only aesthetically motivated, but also dictated by a number of technical conditions, e.g., there needed to be a clear shipping height in the centre of the span of 12.5m for at least 200m. The deck was thus designed with two box girder spines, 2.25m high by 1.25m wide, where the cables were attached to support a deck with 4 traffic lanes and 2 tram tracks in between the two spines. The two spines were joined every 4.9m by transverse sections, which were cantilevered out 6.7m either side for the pedestrian and cycle ways.

On the concrete piers, the engineers designed the steel tubes within the concrete piers to support the bridge and the architects designed the concrete form around these inner steel tubes as a sculptural form.{{cite web |last1=Hewett |first1=Christopher J. |title=A Critical Analysis of the Erasmus Bridge |url=https://people.bath.ac.uk/jjo20/conference2/2008/HEWETT%20PAPER%2007.pdf |website=bath.ac.uk |publisher=University of Bath |access-date=17 May 2020 |date=2008 |quote=Abstract: The following paper gives information on the construction and design of the Erasmus Bridge, a critical analysis of the aesthetics and a consideration of the technical loading aspects to British standard codes. |archive-date=17 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170517112550/http://people.bath.ac.uk/jjo20/conference2/2008/HEWETT%20PAPER%2007.pdf |url-status=dead }}

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 Tiësto titled "Tiësto @ 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 and during the second stage of the 2015 edition of the Tour. The bridge was also crossed during the 2024 Tour de France Femmes.

The bridge features during an interval act at the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 in the grand final by Dutch DJ Afrojack called “Music Binds Us”.

File:Erasmusbrug and Noordereiland.jpg|Erasmusbrug: cable-stayed and bascule bridge

File:2008-07 erasmusbrücke hoch.JPG|The bascule section raised, one set of back stay cables in left foreground

File:Erasmusbrug - Detail of Pylon, September 2019.jpg|Detail of pylon from the bridge

File:Rotterdam Erasmusbrug Kop van Zuid 20050928 40201.JPG|Rotterdam Erasmusbrug from above looking east

File:Rotterdam, de Erasmusbrug vanaf Boompjeskade IMG 1774 2018-03-18 09.51.jpg|Erasmus Bridge from the East

File:Rotterdam, de Erasmusbrug en de Kop van Zuid IMG 0684 2022-03-27 20.24.jpg|Erasmus Bridgebrug and the Kop van Zuid

File:Erasmusbrug seen from Euromast.jpg|Erasmus Bridge at night seen from the Euromast in 2012

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category|Erasmus bridge}}

• {{Structurae|id=20000267|title=Erasmus Bridge}}
• [http://www.bridge-info.org/bridge/index.php?ID=4 Erasmus bridge on bridge-info.org]
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkoSm1B8P_c Erasmusbrug Youtube]
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNitGJ1oDR4 2014 New Year Eve Firework from Erasmus Bridge] (Video)

File:RotterdamMaasNederland.jpg), the regional headquarters of KPN, Montevideo (highrise) and the World Port Center (highrise)]]

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|place = Nieuwe Maas

|bridge = Erasmusbrug

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|upstream = Willemsbrug

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Category:Bascule bridges in the Netherlands

Category:Road-rail bridges

Category:Bridges completed in 1996

Category:Bridges over the Rhine

Category:Cable-stayed bridges in the Netherlands

Category:Road bridges in the Netherlands

Category:Steel bridges in the Netherlands

Category:Bridges in Rotterdam

Category:Towers in Rotterdam