Bridge Vlaardingse Vaart officially opened

Saturday the 18th of April the new pedestrian bicycle bridge crossing the Vlaardingse Vaart, designed by West 8 for the City of Vlaardingen, was officially opened in Vlaardingen, The Netherlands. In February the iconic bridge was already installed at its final destination becoming an expressive sculpture that establishes the moment of ‘crossing’. Now people can also use the bridge to cross the Vlaardingse Vaart as it is a crucial link within the regional bicycle path network.

The bridge was prefabricated on site in a specially erected temporary shed of stacked containers. Its construction comprises 400 steel tubes that were welded together and then galvanized and painted red to create a unique and dynamic structure. The three-dimensional truss of the bridge twists on its horizontal axis. This twisted space frame construction absorbs the user in a continually changing experience of perspective. The rectangular frame at the bridge entrance evolves into a double-height diamond form in the middle. A transparent cathedral of steel becomes a new rest and meeting place along the footpaths and bicycle network.