Årstabroarna
Encyclopedia
Viaduct
A viaduct is a bridge composed of several small spans. The term viaduct is derived from the Latin via for road and ducere to lead something. However, the Ancient Romans did not use that term per se; it is a modern derivation from an analogy with aqueduct. Like the Roman aqueducts, many early...
s in central Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. Passing over the watercourse of Årstaviken and the islets Årsta holmar, they connect the major island Södermalm
Södermalm
Södermalm, often shortened to "Söder", is a district in central Stockholm. It covers the large island formerly called "Åsön". With a population of 99,685, it is one of the most densely populated districts of Scandinavia...
to the southern mainland district Årsta
Årsta
Årsta may refer to:* a Stockholm district, west of Hammarby and south of Södermalm, across the Årstaviken gulf of Lake Mälaren, see Enskede-Årsta borough* Årsta Castle, a castle in the municipality of Haninge, Stockholm County...
.
Eastern Årsta Bridge
The eastern bridge, the older of the two and still often referred to as Årstabron ("The Årsta Bridge"), is still in operation almost 80 years after its inauguration in 1929. When projected in the early 1920s, an agreement between the state and the city stipulated the arterial railway passing through the city had to be made independent of the sea route passing beneath it. It was therefore decided that the railway should be relocated to a bridge passing over Årsta holmar, with a horizontal clearance of 26 metres ensured by a bascule bridgeBascule 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....
over the northern passage, and a truss arch bridge
Truss arch bridge
A truss arch bridge combines the elements of the truss bridge and the arch bridge. The actual resolution of forces will depend upon the design. If no horizontal thrusting forces are generated this becomes an arch-shaped truss, essentially a bent beam — see moon bridge for an example...
(The truss is the old one) over the southern passage offering a span of 100 metres.
In front of a reworked agreement in 1925, the city, intending to add an iron roadway passing above the present railway, required the bridge to be reinforced accordingly, and additionally it was decided the planned bascule bridge should be replaced by a lift bridge
Lift bridge
A vertical-lift bridge or lift bridge is a type of movable bridge in which a span rises vertically while remaining parallel with the deck....
. The plans were carried through and the 753 metres long bridge opened in 1929.
The bridge, on its completion the longest bridge in Sweden, was designed be the architect Cyrillus Johansson (1884–1959) and the engineers Ernst Nilsson
Ernst Nilsson
Ernst Hilding Waldemar Nilsson was a Swedish wrestler who competed in the 1912 Summer Olympics, in the 1920 Summer Olympics, and in the 1924 Summer Olympics....
(1874–1946) and Salomon Kasarnowsky (1887–1960). It has often been resembled to a classical Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
aqueduct
Aqueduct
An aqueduct is a water supply or navigable channel constructed to convey water. In modern engineering, the term is used for any system of pipes, ditches, canals, tunnels, and other structures used for this purpose....
, and is today declared a historical landmark.
The possibility to add a traffic route atop the bridge were discussed at several different occasions during the remaining of the 20th century, the most elaborated plans, in 1960, being to have a motorway, called Tantoleden, connect Ringvägen and Årsta by building a new bridge on the west side of the old.
Western Årsta Bridge
A western bridge, designed by Sir Norman FosterNorman Foster, Baron Foster of Thames Bank
Norman Robert Foster, Baron Foster of Thames Bank, OM is a British architect whose company maintains an international design practice, Foster + Partners....
(1935-), 833 metres long and 19,5 metres wide, was finally inaugurated in 2005. Along with the new bridge a new commuter train station, Årstaberg, was created south of the bridges. Twice the width of the old, thus permitting an elevated pathway next to the railway, the pillars of the new bridge are not only much slender, but also reduced to ten, less than half of the old. Preceded by two decades of fiery debate, as Foster had the bridge painted in falu red
Falu red
Falu red or Falun red is the name of a Swedish, deep red paint well known for its use on wooden cottages and barns. The paint originated from the copper mine at Falun in Dalarna, Sweden. The traditional colour remains popular today due to its effectiveness in preserving wood. In Finland, it is...
, a traditional deep red colour, the bridge was nicked falukorv
Falukorv
Falukorv is a large traditional Swedish sausage made of a grated mixture of pork and beef or veal with potato starch flour and mild spices.-History:...
en by its slanderers.
See also
- List of bridges in Stockholm
- SkansbronSkansbronSkansbron is a bascule bridge in central Stockholm, Sweden. Stretching over the canal Hammarbykanalen, it connects the major island Södermalm to the southern mainland district Södra Hammarbyhamnen....
- SkanstullsbronSkanstullsbronSkanstullsbron is a bridge in central Stockholm, Sweden. Overpassing the older bridge Skansbron, it connects the major island Södermalm to the southern district Johanneshov....
- JohanneshovsbronJohanneshovsbronJohanneshovsbron is a 756 metres long and 17,9 metres wide motorway bridge in central Stockholm, Sweden. Overpassing two older bridges, Skansbron and Skanstullsbron, and one newer bridge, Fredriksdalsbron, it connects Södermalm and the tunnel passing under it, Söderledstunneln, to Johanneshov, the...
- LiljeholmsbronLiljeholmsbronLiljeholmsbron is a bridge in central Stockholm, Sweden. Stretching over Liljeholmsviken, it connects the western end of the major island Södermalm to the southern mainland district Liljeholmen.- History :...
- TvärbananTvärbananTvärbanan is a light rail line in the suburbs of Stockholm, Sweden. Its name literally translated into English is Crossways line. It links together many bus and rail lines crossways through its connections with the southern and western subway branches of the Stockholm Metro and the Stockholm...
External links
- Stockholmskällan - historical images of Årstabron.
- Banverket – Nya Årstabron i Stockholm
- Norman Foster & Partners - Arstabridge, 1994-2005