Temse Bridge (East Flanders)

Temse Bridge
A parallel Temse bridge was opened in 2009 to ease traffic congestion at busy times.
Coordinates	51°7′18″N 4°13′11″E / 51.12167°N 4.21972°E / 51.12167; 4.21972Coordinates: 51°7′18″N 4°13′11″E / 51.12167°N 4.21972°E / 51.12167; 4.21972
Carries	(road bridge since 1955)
Crosses	Scheldt
Official name	Temsebrug
Characteristics
Material	steel and concrete
Total length	343 m (1,125.3 ft) (1870-1940) 365 m (1,197.5 ft) (since 1955) 374 m (1,227.0 ft) (parallel road bridge since 2009)
History
Construction end	1870 (rail bridge with adjacent pedestrian toll paths) 1955 (road bridge)
Collapsed	1914, 1918, 1940 (blown up by troops)
Temse Bridge Location in Belgium

The Temse Bridge crosses the Scheldt at Temse, a small town approximately 25 km (15 miles) southwest of Antwerp. Between 1955 and 2009 the 365 m (1,197.5 ft) bridge was the longest in Belgium. The old bridge lost that distinction to the New Schelde Bridge which runs parallel to it, and has a length of 374 m (1,227.0 ft).

Temse marks the last bridge crossing over the Scheldt before the river reaches the sea. Road crossings downstream of this point use tunnels.

The Temse Bridge is a road bridge, connecting Temse on the north shore of the river with Bornem, five minutes by car or bike to the south. The bridge is part of the road numbered , which runs from Sint-Niklaas to Mechelen. On the river's south shore the bridge passes over soft land, while the municipal boundary dividing the area administered by Temse in East Flanders from that administered by Bornem in the Province of Antwerp runs along the middle of the river. This means that more than 50% of the bridge's total length falls within the municipality of Bornem.

Before there was any bridge, at least as far back as the fourteenth century, there was a ferry crossing point at Temse.

The first bridge across the Schelde at Temse was ready for use on 30 November 1870. It was designed by the French engineer Gustave Eiffel. Eifffel's 343 m (1,125.3 ft) bridge was primarily a railway bridge, carrying the from Mechelen to Terneuzen. However, beside the railway line, on each side of it, was a toll path for pedestrians and their animals. Tolls were set in 1872 at 15 centimes for a horse or cow, 10 centimes for a donkey, 5 centimes for a person and 3 centimes for one goat or two ducks. Later in the century, the bridge was also used by small horse carts and dog carts. Towards the end of the century motor cars began to appear on the streets, but anyone wishing to cross the river with a car had to drive upstream to Dendermonde.