Erasmusbrug

The Erasmus Bridge (Dutch: Erasmusbrug) is a cable-stayed bridge in Rotterdam over the Nieuwe Maas, a main stream in the Rhine-Meuse Delta. Named after the philosopher Erasmus of Rotterdam, the road bridge, over which line 20 of the Rotterdam tram also runs, connects the centre of Rotterdam with the Kop van Zuid, an urban development area.

The structure is located at Rhine kilometre 1000.86 and kilometre 11.53 of the Dutch waterway 102 (Nieuwe Maas-Nieuwe Waterweg-Maasmond). The Erasmus Bridge is the last bridge on this waterway before it ends at kilometre 46.17 and Rhine kilometre 1036.20 in the North Sea. To the west of the Erasmus Bridge, the Maas Tunnel and the Benelux Tunnel run under the Nieuwe Maas. At the southern bridgehead stands the eye-catching KPN Tower by Renzo Piano with its façade sloping towards the street (in the photo to the left of the pylon).

The 802-metre-long structure spans the New Meuse with a 410-metre-long asymmetrical cable-stayed bridge that has a 278-metre-wide main opening and a white 139-metre-high angled pylon. This earned the bridge the nickname "de zwaan" (the swan). A bascule bridge with a span of 89 metres is located to the south of the cable-stayed bridge. This is the largest and heaviest bascule bridge in Western Europe. The total weight of the steel structure is 6,800 tons. The construction costs amounted to 165 million euros.

The bridge was designed in 1989 by the architects Van Berkel & Bos (Ben van Berkel and Caroline Bos). Construction began in 1994. The pylon was erected with the help of the world's most powerful floating crane, the Thialf. On 4 September 1996, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands opened the Erasmus Bridge.

In November 1996, strong vibrations were observed on the bridge's stay cables, which occurred under certain wind conditions in combination with rain running down the cables. Therefore, dynamic vibration dampers were retrofitted to the stay cables. In 1998 the bridge was awarded the "National Steel Construction Prize". A replica on a scale of 1:25 can be seen in Madurodam.

At the north end of this bridge the ships start for a harbour tour. The standard trip lasts 75 minutes.

See also

• List of bridges over the Rhine