Baanhoek Bridge
Coordinates: 51 ° 49 ′ 20 ″ N , 4 ° 44 ′ 30 ″ E
| Baanhoek Bridge | ||
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| Convicted | Elst – Dordrecht railway line, bicycle and pedestrian path |
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| Crossing of | Beneden-Merwede | |
| place | Sliedrecht , Dordrecht | |
| Entertained by | ProRail | |
| construction | Truss bridge | |
| overall length | 466.50 m | |
| Longest span | 2 × 110.70 m | |
| Headroom | 13.06 m (fixed bridge) | |
| start of building | 1880 | |
| opening | July 13, 1885, 1983 (new building) |
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The Baanhoekbrücke ( Dutch Baanhoekbrug ) spans the Beneden-Merwede , as the lower reaches of the Waal in this section of the Rhine-Meuse delta , between the Dutch municipalities of Sliedrecht and Dordrecht . The railway bridge on the Elst –Dordrecht line was built from 1880 to 1885 as a half-timbered construction, rebuilt after war damage until 1947 and renewed from 1978 to 1983 and equipped with a bascule bridge . A bicycle path leads east of the single-track train routeacross the bridge. The structure is located at Rhine km 971.30 and km 112.56 of the Dutch waterway 101 (Rhine – Waal– Boven-Merwede –Beneden-Merwede– Noord ).
history
The "Maatschappij tot Exploitatie van Staatsspoorwegen" (German Society for the Development of State Railways ) opened the Elst – Dordrecht ( Betuwelijn ) railway in sections between 1882 and 1885 as competition to the previous east-west connections of other railway companies. In a broader sense, the line established a connection between Hoek van Holland and the Arnhem – Nijmegen railway line , one of the most important Dutch railway lines.
In April 1880, the construction of the bridge belonging to the Elst – Dordrecht railway line at the Baanhoek settlement , after which the structure was named, began. The plans were made under the direction of the engineer LJ Kesper. The engineer Ph. J. Waller from Dordrecht took on the design and construction management. After the construction work was delayed again and again, it became known that the competing "Nederlandsche Rhijnspoorweg-Maatschappij" ( Dutch Rhine Railway Company ) was paying 100 guilders (including a 50 guild fine ) to the construction company for the delayed completion.
In May 1885 the endurance test took place with a train ride over the bridge. The structure was officially put into operation on July 13 of the same year. The railway bridge has a total length of 466.50 meters. Starting in the north, it consists of a foreland bridge with a span of 68.70 meters, the two original river bridges with spans of 110.70 meters each and three foreland bridges with spans of 58.80 meters each. The pillars were designed for two tracks, but the bridge has remained a single track to this day.
During the Second World War , the railway bridge was severely damaged several times. In May 1940, when the Wehrmacht attacked the Netherlands, the northern river bridge was blown up by the Dutch military. Then the building was makeshift repairs by the German occupiers. An auxiliary pillar was built in the river bed and two arches were used, which were originally intended for a bridge on the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal near Schalkwijk (municipality of Houten ). On April 15, the building was blown up again by the withdrawing Wehrmacht . The temporary bridge from 1940 and two approach bridges from 1885 were destroyed. A prefabricated British Callender-Hamilton bridge was delivered after the war to replace the bridge . The two foreland bridges were replaced by parts of the railway bridge built in 1870 near Hedel (municipality of Maasdriel ). The auxiliary pillar of the northern river bridge was still necessary. The side sections of the bridge sections integrated in 1940 were also used in the reconstruction. In 1947 the bridge could be opened again for train traffic.
In May 1978, work began on building a bascule bridge on the foreshore bridge on the southern bank. The structure based on a design by the steel and concrete construction department of the Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS) was completed in April 1980. Several aircraft bombs from World War II were encountered during construction , which significantly delayed work. In addition, an extensive renovation of the entire Baanhoek Bridge took place. The auxiliary pillar was removed, the steel foreshore bridges were replaced by reinforced concrete bridges and the river bridges with new half-timbered structures. This construction work was completed in 1983. In addition, a cycle path was built east of the track system and the railway line electrified. The so-called Betuweroute , an upgraded and new line between Rotterdam and the Oberhausen – Arnhem railway line , runs partially parallel to the Betuwelijn.
See also
Web links
- Baanhoekbrug In: brueckenweb.de (German)
- History of the Baanhoek Bridge In: vinkendrecht.nl (Dutch)
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The next bridge upstream: Boven-Merwede : Merwedebrücke near Gorinchem |
Bridges over the Rhine |
The next bridge downstream: Beneden-Merwede : Merwedebrücke Papendrecht |