Erasmus Bridge

Erasmus Bridge Erasmusbrug
The Erasmus Bridge in Rotterdam
Carries	4 lanes, 2 tramway tracks, 2 cycle tracks, 2 sidewalks
Crosses	Nieuwe Maas
Locale	Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Other name(s)	De Zwaan (The Swan)
Characteristics
Material	Steel
Total length	802-metre (2,631 ft)
Width	33.8-metre (111 ft)
Height	139-metre (456 ft)
Longest span	284-metre (932 ft)
No. of spans	4
Clearance below	12.5-metre (41 ft)
History
Designer	Ben van Berkel
Construction end	1996
Construction cost	€ 165 million (365 million Guilders)

The Erasmus Bridge (Dutch: Erasmusbrug) is a combined cable-stayed and bascule bridge in the centre of Rotterdam, connecting the north and south parts of this city, second largest in the Netherlands. The bridge was named after Desiderius Erasmus a.k.a. Erasmus of Rotterdam, a prominent Christian renaissance humanist.

The 802-metre-long (2,631 ft) bridge across the New Meuse was designed by Ben van Berkel and completed in 1996. The cable-stayed bridge section has a single 139-metre-high (456 ft) asymmetrical pale blue pylon with a prominent horizontal base, earning the bridge its nickname "The Swan".

The southernmost span of the bridge has an 89-metre-long (292 ft) bascule bridge for ships that cannot pass under the bridge. The bascule bridge is the largest and heaviest in Western Europe and has the largest panel of its type in the world.

After costing more than 165 million Euros to construct, the bridge was officially opened by Queen Beatrix on September 6, 1996. Shortly after the bridge opened to traffic in October 1996, it was discovered the bridge would swing under particularly strong wind conditions. To reduce the trembling, stronger shock dampers were installed.

The bridge featured in the 1998 Jackie Chan film Who Am I?. In 2005, several planes flew underneath the bridge as part of the "Red Bull Air Race". The bridge is also part of The World Port Days in Rotterdam.

In 2005, the bridge served as the backdrop for a performance by DJ Tiësto titled "Tiësto @ The Bridge, Rotterdam". The performance featured fire-fighting ships spraying jets of water into the air in front of the bridge, a fireworks barge launching fireworks beside the bridge, and multi colored spot/search lights attached to the bridge itself.