A new pedestrian connection over the Limfjord will open next year with the Aalborg Cultural Bridge, attached to the existing railway bridge over the fjord, linking central Aalborg and Nørresundby and providing access to new nature experiences for locals and tourists. The design of the new pedestrian and cycling bridge is simple and elegant, in respect of the railway bridge, a steel construction dating back to 1928. The Cultural Bridge, as it is called, only touches the existing bridge at a few points, and is lightly suspended by a system of rods and dampers.
The bridge is 2 m wide, and designed as a bascule bridge like the existing railway bridge. The 370 m standard spans are made of fiber composite (a material also used for wind turbines), while the bridge leaf will be made of steel. The bridge will be lit by energy efficient LED lights that will guide pedestrians and cyclist in the evening and make the bridge appear as a sculptural landmark in the dark. The fiber composite material has great lightness, great strength and is also environmentally friendly. The bridge spans have been designed so that they are easy to fit and take down again in a maintenance situation – also a solution chosen to create as sustainable a construction as possible.
“We have waited long for this day, and we are therefore very pleased that the project will now be realized,” said Jens Toft-Nielsen of the Aalborg City Council. “I am sure that the new bridge will contribute to a greater coherence between Aalborg’s urban areas north and south of the fjord.” C.F. Møller has designed the Cultural Bridge in cooperation with engineers COWI after a competition in 2010, but the realization of the project had to be postponed after the existing railway bridge was severely damaged by collision in 2012. Aalborg has now signed an agreement with contractors Ommen & Møller A/S for the structure to be inaugurated in the summer of 2016. Source by C.F. Møller Architects.
Location: Aalborg, Denmark
Architect: C.F. Møller Architects
Landscape: C.F. Møller Landscape
Engineering: COWI
Client consultant: Kaai Aalborg
Client: Teknik- og Miljøforvaltningen
Aalborg Kommune
Collaborators, other: ÅF Lighting
Awards: 1st prize in competition. 2010
Year: 2016
Images: Courtesy of C.F. Møller Architects