Auke Vleerstraat bicycle bridge

meandering bridge

This 280 metre long cycling bridge was designed to offer cyclists a fast and easy way to cross one of the busy entrance roads of the city of Enschede. The main challenge was to create a comfortable slope within the limited space available. A meandering bridge offered the solution, as it allowed for existing trees to stay and extended the cycling path as a whole so that its slope could be more comfortable.

alignment

The prescribed clearance of 5 m meant a 5,87 m height difference had to be overcome. To do this in a cyclist friendly way, the length of the overall slope would be at least 460 m. A bridge of that length was only possible if it had several turns/corners. By meandering the bridge across the site, most of the existing trees on the eastern side of the intersection could be spared. Placing the main span away from the intersection itself allowed for enough distance in between bridge and traffi c lights for motorists to notice them in time and well ahead of the intersection.

slope design

The newly built bicycle path has a total length of 427 m and a 280 m total span. On either side of the span, the slope leading up to the bridge is built on an earthen embankment. As the bridge is located right in between rural and urban environment, this was not only cost effective, but also befi tting. The embankments are set back from the actual road intersection and therefore do not obstruct motorist’s views of the rural surroundings.

modular structure

In order to reduce costs, the bridge deck is made with only two different types of prefabricated pre-stressed concrete sections (radii of 75 and 180 m) placed in a carefully designed order. Consequently, only 2 expensive molds were needed. The 20-metre long sections are very slim, with a maximum height of only 0,8 m. Due to the chosen bearing type, supports and deck come together in one fluent and appealing shape. To give the bridge an extra nice touch, a curvy pattern was added to the bottom side of the concrete sections. Due to the chosen bearing type, supports and deck come together in one fluent and appealing shape.

prefabricated concrete

The bridge deck is made with only two different types of prefabricated prestressed concrete sections (radius of 75 and 180 m) that have been placed in a carefully designed order. The 20-metre long sections are very slim, with a height of only 800 mm.

specifications

vertical clearance: 5 m
height difference: 5,87 m
yotal length: 430 m (of which 150 m (65+45+40) on embankment)
main span: all spans are 20 m
deck width: 4,1 m
slope gradient: 3,5 % and 2,6 % (=1:28 and 1:38)
building costs: 1.400.000 euro
completed: 2011

project location