Editor in chief at IamExpat Media
After much, much back and forth, it has finally been confirmed that Amsterdam will be getting a new cycle bridge over the IJ, to supplement the ferry and metro lines that serve the northern part of the Dutch city. The bridge is expected to open in 2034, at the earliest.
Skip the ferry: cycle over the IJ instead! Financing has finally been secured for a long-awaited project to build a new cycle and pedestrian bridge over the IJ, to connect the districts of Noord and Oost. At 1,2 kilometres, it will be one of the longest bridges in the Netherlands.
The Oostbrug, which will open in 2034 at the earliest, will run between Azartplein in Oost to Johan van Hasseltweg in Noord and will speed up journeys from Waterland, Zaanstad and Purmerend to the east side of Amsterdam. It will also relieve pressure on the ferries, which according to the transport board can no longer keep up with demand. Authorities are expecting between 20.000 and 25.000 people to use the bridge every day.
Half of the funding for the 300-million-euro bridge will come from Amsterdam city council, with the other half now secured from the Amsterdam transport board.
A design for the bridge has not yet been finalised, but Amsterdam’s chief of transport, Melanie van der Horst, told Telegraaf that it may incorporate parts of discarded bridges, making it “a bridge with attitude”.
Construction is expected to begin in 2031, with approval from the Amsterdam Regional Council still pending.
And Amsterdam isn’t stopping there with its bridge ambitions: according to NOS, plans are also afoot to create a “West Bridge” between the NDSM shipyard in Amsterdam Noord and Danzigerkade in Amsterdam-West, to provide a pathway between the western and northern parts of the city.