Frederick IX Bridge
Encyclopedia
The Frederick IX bridge (named for King Frederick IX
Frederick IX of Denmark
Frederick IX was King of Denmark from 20 April 1947 until his death on 14 January 1972....

) spans the Guldborgsund
Guldborgsund
Guldborgsund is the strait between the Danish islands of Lolland and Falster that connects Smålandsfarvandet in the north with Bay of Mecklenburg in the south. It is navigable for craft of up to 6 metres draught in its northern part and is used for commercial traffic to Nykøbing Falster...

 strait between the islands of Falster
Falster
Falster is an island in south-eastern Denmark with an area of 514 km² and 43,398 inhabitants as of 1 January 2010. Located in the Baltic sea, it is part of Region Sjælland and is administered by Guldborgsund Municipality...

 and Lolland
Lolland
Lolland is the fourth largest island of Denmark, with an area of 1,243 square kilometers . Located in the Baltic sea, it is part of Region Sjælland...

 in Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

. It joins the larger part of Nykøbing Falster
Nykøbing Falster
Nykøbing Falster is a southern Danish city, seat of the Guldborgsund kommune. It belongs to Region Sjælland. The city lies on Falster, connected by the 295-meter-long Frederick IX Bridge over the Guldborgsund waterway to the island of Lolland. The town has a population of 16,464...

 with the smaller part of the town on Lolland. It is 295m long and 25m wide and was constructed between 1960 and 1962, opening officially on 14 May 1963.

The bridge has a central 20m span with two bascules
Bascule bridge
A bascule bridge is a moveable bridge with a counterweight that continuously balances the span, or "leaf," throughout the entire upward swing in providing clearance for boat traffic....

, both on the eastern side of the bridge. One carries four lanes of vehicle traffic while the other carries a rail link. The two parts normally operate together. The bridge is manned during the day and opened on request for passing ships, but may only be opened once every half hour. It is planned for the bridge to be re-equipped for automatic operation.

The bascules consist of a long bridge span and a short counterweight section. Each bascule is supported by two pivot bearings, one either side. Two motors, one either side of the bridge, turn shafts passing through the centre of the pivot bearings. Further shafts take power to the rear of the counterweights, where there are pinions pressing against a rack mounted in the wall of the counterweight chamber, which drive the bascule.

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