The Waalbrug is an

arch bridge An arch bridge is a bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved arch. Arch bridges work by transferring the weight of the bridge and its loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either side. A viaduct ...

over the

Waal River The Waal (Dutch name, ) is the main distributary branch of the river Rhine flowing approximately through the Netherlands. It is the major waterway connecting the port of Rotterdam to Germany. Before it reaches Rotterdam, it joins with the Afg ...

Nijmegen Nijmegen (;; Spanish and it, Nimega. Nijmeegs: ''Nimwèège'' ) is the largest city in the Dutch province of Gelderland and tenth largest of the Netherlands as a whole, located on the Waal river close to the German border. It is about 6 ...

Gelderland Gelderland (), also known as Guelders () in English, is a province of the Netherlands, occupying the centre-east of the country. With a total area of of which is water, it is the largest province of the Netherlands by land area, and second by ...

, the

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 ...

. The full length of the Waalbrug is , the middle of the arch being about high. The arch itself is long and was the longest arch in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

at the time of construction. Unlike many other bridges from the same period and with the same construction, like the IJsselbrug near

Zwolle Zwolle () is a city and municipality in the Northeastern Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of Overijssel and the province's second-largest municipality after Enschede with a population of 130,592 as of 1 December 2021. Zwolle is o ...

, the Graafsebrug and the bridge near Arnhem, the Waalbrug is an arch bridge in the literal sense: all forces truly work on the two pylons.

History

The bridge was opened on 16 June 1936 by Queen

Wilhelmina of the Netherlands Wilhelmina (; Wilhelmina Helena Pauline Maria; 31 August 1880 – 28 November 1962) was Queen of the Netherlands from 1890 until her abdication in 1948. She reigned for nearly 58 years, longer than any other Dutch monarch. Her reign saw World War ...

in presence of 200.000 people. Until 1936 there was no permanent connection for ordinary traffic to the other side of the Waal. All traffic had to use the "Zeldenrust"

ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...

. Train traffic used a railway bridge since 1879. In 1906 the "Nijmegen Vooruit" (Nijmegen Ahead) committee started planning the construction of the Waalbrug, but the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

delayed the plans. In 1927 definitive plans had been made and construction of the bridge started October 23, 1931 after a plan of the

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

G. Schoorl. At the start of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

the Dutch combat engineering units blew up the bridge to stop the German army's advance. During the occupation the Germans restored the bridge and from 1943 it was in use for traffic again. In 1944 the Germans planned to blow up the bridge again, but

Jan van Hoof Jan Jozef Lambert van Hoof (7 August 1922 – 19 September 1944) was a member of the Dutch resistance in World War II, who cooperated with Allied Forces during Operation Market Garden. He is credited with disabling explosives placed by the Ger ...

, a

Rover Scout Rover Scouts, Rovers, Rover Scouting or Rovering is a program associated with some Scouting organizations for adult men and women. A group of Rovers is called a 'Rover Crew'. Rovers was originated by The Boy Scouts Association in the United K ...

and member of the Dutch Resistance, managed to prevent this. On 20 September 1944, the bridge was conquered by allied forces. A plaque was added to the bridge as a reminder of van Hoof's actions. The bridge was painted green until 1980, these days it is white.

Traffic

There is a bus lane on the west side of the Waalbrug. During the morning and evening rush hour there is often a large traffic jam on the bridge. Like the Keizer Karelplein, the bridge is one of the problem traffic thoroughfares in

. 'De Oversteek' ('The Crossing') opened the 24th of november 2013 to ease the traffic congestion of the bridge. For cyclists there is the '

Snelbinder The Nijmegen railway bridge is a truss bridge spanning the River Waal, connecting the city of Nijmegen to the town of Lent in the Netherlands. Construction Construction started in 1875, on the site of an ancient Roman bridge, and was completed ...

Bridge', which is connected to the rail bridge. Once 'de Oversteek' opened the bridge was closed briefly for renovation work. In 2005 more than 50,000 vehicles used the bridge every 24 hours.

In popular culture

The Waalbrug can be found in the 1977 film '' A Bridge Too Far'', ''

Band of Brothers (book) ''Band of Brothers'', subtitled, ''E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne: From Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest'', by Stephen E. Ambrose is an examination of a parachute infantry company in the 101st Airborne Division in the European T ...

'' and the computer games: '' Medal of Honor: Frontline'', '' Medal of Honor: Vanguard'', '' Medal of Honor: Airborne'' and ''

Battlefield V ''Battlefield V'' is a first-person shooter game developed by DICE and published by Electronic Arts. It is the eleventh main installment in the ''Battlefield'' series and the successor to 2016's ''Battlefield 1'', and was released for Microsoft ...

''.

References

{{Authority control Arch bridges Bridges completed in 1936 Bridges over the Rhine Road bridges in the Netherlands Steel bridges in the Netherlands Bridges in Nijmegen