London Bridge - Antwerp by Luc De Cock

About "London Bridge - Antwerp"

by Luc De Cock

About the artwork

The London Bridge is a bridge in the Antwerp port area on the right bank of the Scheldt River. The bridge lies over the northern head of the Verbindingsdok, which connects the Kattendijkdok with the Willemdok. It is electrically powered.

The London Bridge is a swing bridge of the Dutch type. It connects the wide Amsterdamstraat, from the Rijnkaai, to the Londenstraat. The passage width is 17.7 meters.

In 1997, a work of art by Antwerp artist Nancy Van Meer was attached to the underside of the bridge as part of the Bridge Art exhibition during the Portival festival in the Port of Antwerp. Five other bridges in the old port were also "dressed" in this way. The artworks were only visible when the bridges were opened to shipping traffic.

The bridge has been completely replaced twice in its existence. The first London Bridge was similar to the Nassau Bridge, but with a train track. Built in 1913, this bridge was demolished in 1978 and replaced with a new bridge built by Boom Metal Works.

From the summer of 2016 to the end of 2017, the London Bridge was replaced a second time. The bridge was completely demolished and was replaced by a bridge with 2 X 1 lane and a two-track tramway. Before and behind the bridge, 50 meters of road will be reconstructed to match the road profile. The indentations at the bridge abutments will be retained because they are characteristic of the quays.

For cyclists and pedestrians, there was a temporary bridge at the other end of the connecting dock during the works. This was similar to a raft bridge, but the accesses are parallel to the bridge deck that rides on the quay to open.