The Enneüs Heerma Bridge ( nl, Enneüs Heermabrug) is a bridge in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

located in the new neighbourhood of

IJburg IJburg () is a residential neighbourhood under construction in Amsterdam, Netherlands. It is situated in the IJmeer and is being built on artificial islands which have been raised from the lake. The Haveneiland, Rieteilanden, Steigereiland and ...

, built on seven artificial islands in the

IJmeer The IJmeer is a 'bordering lake' (''Randmeer'') in the Netherlands. It lies between the De Nes polder (in Waterland), Pampushaven, Hollandse Brug and the mouth of the IJ in IJburg, straddling the provinces of North Holland and Flevoland. It is a ...

. It connects the district of

Zeeburgereiland The Zeeburgereiland is a triangular island on the east side of Amsterdam, in the Dutch province of North Holland. It lies between the Oranje Locks and the and on the east is bordered by the IJ. Formerly an industrial area, the island is being re ...

, on the eastern edge of the city, with

Steigereiland Steigereiland is a neighborhood of Amsterdam, Netherlands. Steigereiland is the first of the IJburg Islands when approaching from central Amsterdam. The island comprises three neighbourhoods - Noodbuurt, Zuidbuurt and Waterbuurt - the last of whi ...

, to the south. The bridge is named after

Enneüs Heerma Enneüs "Inne" Heerma (23 December 1944 – 1 March 1999) was a Dutch politician of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and management consultant. Heerma applied at the Free University Amsterdam in July 1963 majoring in Political scie ...

, who served as Leader of the

Christian Democratic Appeal The Christian Democratic Appeal ( nl, Christen-Democratisch Appèl, ; CDA) is a Christian-democratic political party in the Netherlands. It was originally formed in 1977 from a confederation of the Catholic People's Party, the Anti-Revolutionary ...

, alderman in Amsterdam and State Secretary twice under Prime Minister

Ruud Lubbers Rudolphus Franciscus Marie "Ruud" Lubbers (; 7 May 1939 – 14 February 2018) was a Dutch politician, diplomat and businessman who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 1982 to 1994, and as United Nations High Commissioner for Refu ...

. Alongside the

Nescio Bridge The Nescio Bridge (or ''Nesciobrug'' in Dutch) is a cycle and footbridge in the Netherlands. This curved, steel suspension bridge, located in Amsterdam, is the country's first suspension bridge that carries only a Cycling infrastructure, cycle tra ...

which is a cycle and footbridge connecting IJburg to East Amsterdam, it is one of the neighbourhood's best known landmarks.

Construction

Made of

steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...

, with a length of , a width of , and a height of , the suspended deck of the bridge serves to carry a traffic road and a light rail (tram) line. It is the main connection between

and the A10 and can be reached by tram 26, the

IJtram Amsterdam tram line 26, popularly known as the IJtram, is a tram line operating between Amsterdam Centraal station and the IJburg district in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. , the IJtram was the busiest tram line in Amsterdam, carrying 30,000 riders ...

, from

Amsterdam Centraal station Amsterdam Centraal Station ( nl, italic=no, Station Amsterdam Centraal ; Railway stations in the Netherlands, abbreviation: Asd) is the largest railway station in Amsterdam, North Holland, the Netherlands. A major international Rail transport, r ...

. Completed in 2001, the bridge was designed by

Grimshaw Architects Grimshaw Architects (formerly Nicholas Grimshaw & Partners) is an architectural firm based in London. Founded in 1980 by Sir Nicholas Grimshaw, the firm was one of the pioneers of high-tech architecture. In particular, they are known for thei ...

. The classic gables of

’s canal houses inspired the arches and lateral gables and the wavy patterns refer to water. The segmented appearance is based on the skeleton of a crab. The shallowness of the water at the bridge site made it impossible to use floating cranes to lift the pre-assembled arches of the bridge into position during construction. The problem was solved by using pontoons and crawler cranes.

External links

Architectural firm website''www.ijburg.nu'', Who is Enneus Heerma? Discussion about the bridge
(in Dutch) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Enneus Heerma Bridge Bridges completed in 2001 Road bridges in the Netherlands Steel bridges in the Netherlands Bridges in Amsterdam Nicholas Grimshaw buildings