The climate changes, increasing the amount of water in the rivers. To prevent floods more space is given to the rivers on various locations in The Netherlands. This is also needed for the river ‘de Waal’, who makes a sharp turn and narrows nearby the city Nijmegen, resulting in flooding at high tide. To protect the residents, measures are necessary. One of those measures is the project ‘ Space for the Waal Nijmegen ‘. The municipality is planning an unique urban rivers park in the heart of the city, with space for living, recreation and culture.
SIDstudio has teamed up with architect Jord den Hollander to design for this location a bicycle and pedestrian bridge with a floating bridge deck. The bridge, called Citadel bridge connects the western part of an island and the future district the Citadel. The total length of the bridge is approximately 225 m, supported by 6 pillars and 12 arches. The deck hangs on cables between the, in V-shape placed arches. This reduces the span to half the distance between the pillars. Two expansion joints are provided such that each part is stabilized as a kind of table construction. The arches with the cables create a moment stiff connection with the deck. The arches are of laminated wood, while the substructure is made of concrete for the sustainability and to withstand the potential impact of floating debris or ice in the river.