De Oversteek

De Oversteek (The Crossing), also called Stadsbrug (City Bridge), is a road bridge over the river Waal in the Netherlands. Opened in 2013, it is situated immediately to the west of Nijmegen city centre. The bridge has four traffic lanes, two in each direction, and a four metre wide shared pedestrian and cycle path.

History

The bridge was proposed to reduce congestion on the existing Nijmegen road bridge, the Waalbrug, 2 km (1.2 mi) east of the new bridge. However concerns were raised on the planned location, as it might attract wider regional traffic, thereby increasing congestion levels. After a review, building commenced in early 2011 and took 30 months to complete, the project jointly undertaken by the Dutch BAM Civie and the German Max Bögl.

It is the longest single arch bridge in Europe and cost an estimated €260 million. It was officially opened on 23 November 2013.

Commemorating 1944

The bridge is on the site of the Waal crossing of 20 September 1944, an assault across the river by soldiers of the US 504th Parachute Infantry during Operation Market Garden. The bridge was named after this event, which in Dutch is known as De Oversteek.

The 1944 crossing has remained a theme of the bridge. During the opening ceremony, veterans of the assault and their relatives were present, and tributes were paid to those who died.

Since 19 October 2014, a daily Sunset March has taken place across the bridge. Led by a military veteran, the bridge's 48 street lights light up one by one at the pace of the march, in tribute to the 48 soldiers who died in the crossing.

Since 2016, the road over the bridge has been called the Generaal James Gavinsingel, and the viaduct on the north side the 82e Airborne Divisieviaduct, named after the commander and formation of the 1944 assault troops.

Text imported from Wikipedia article "De Oversteek" and modified on June 11, 2024 according to the CC-BY-SA 4.0 International license.