Waal bridge by Lex Schulte

About "Waal bridge"

by Lex Schulte

About the artwork

Waal bridge near Nijmegen. Thanks to the use of an infrared filter, I could use a very long shutter speed for this photo. This gives you an almost graphic image in black and white. The strong contrast puts the focus on only the bridge and the water is nice because of the slow shutter speed.
The Waal bridge is the oldest crossing of the Waal to reach Nijmegen from the north. The full length of the Waal Bridge is 604 meters, and it is about 65 meters high in the middle of the arch. The largest span, the arc itself, is 244.10 meters long, and on completion in 1936 was the longest arc voltage in Europe.
In contrast to many other bridges from the same period and with the same construction, such as the IJssel Bridge near Zwolle, the John S. Thompson Bridge near Grave and the John Frost Bridge near Arnhem, the Waal Bridge is unique, because it is an arch bridge in the literal sense of the word. ; the transfer of the forces actually rests in the two pillars.
Until 1936 there was no fixed connection for normal traffic to the other side of the Waal. All traffic had to be transferred with slurry pumping "Zeldenrust". In 1906 the committee "Nijmegen Vooruit" started making plans for the construction of the Waal bridge, but the outbreak of the First World War threw a spanner in the works. In 1927 the final plans were made and on 23 October 1931 the construction of the bridge began, according to a design by architect G. Schoorl.
On 16 June 1936, the bridge was opene