Tranebergsbron
Encyclopedia
Tranebergsbron (Swedish
Swedish language
Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
: "The Traneberg Bridge") is a double arch bridge
Arch bridge
An arch bridge is a bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved arch. Arch bridges work by transferring the weight of the bridge and its loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either side...
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....
. Stretching over the strait Tranebergssund it connects the major island Kungsholmen
Kungsholmen
Kungsholmen is an island in Lake Mälaren in Sweden, part of Stockholm City. It is situated north of Riddarfjärden and considered part of the historical province Uppland....
to the western suburb Bromma. It has a road and also metro
Stockholm Metro
The Stockholm Metro is a metro system in Stockholm, Sweden. The first line opened in 1950, and today the system has 100 stations in use, of which 47 are underground and 53 above ground. There are seven lines numbered from 10 to 19, in three groups identified by a color: the Green, Red and Blue lines...
tracks.
History
Part of the ambition of King Gustav IIIGustav III of Sweden
Gustav III was King of Sweden from 1771 until his death. He was the eldest son of King Adolph Frederick and Queen Louise Ulrica of Sweden, she a sister of Frederick the Great of Prussia....
(1746–1792) to construct a road from the city to the palace at Drottningholm Palace
Drottningholm Palace
The Drottningholm Palace is the private residence of the Swedish royal family. It is located in Drottningholm. It is built on the island Lovön , and is one of Sweden's Royal Palaces. It was originally built in the late 16th century. It served as a residence of the Swedish royal court for most of...
, the first bridge at this location was a floating bridge
Pontoon bridge
A pontoon bridge or floating bridge is a bridge that floats on water and in which barge- or boat-like pontoons support the bridge deck and its dynamic loads. While pontoon bridges are usually temporary structures, some are used for long periods of time...
finished in 1787, defrayed by the funds granted the king as christening gift while namned crown prince in 1779. As neglected maintenance made it necessary to rebuild the bridge by the 1850s, the new floating bridge was then relocated slightly southwards, thus reaching into the valley on the western shore.
As population in the western suburbs grew in the early 20th century, the necessity of a bridge allowing cars, trucks, and trams became increasingly apparent, and 1911-1914 a pontoon bridge
Pontoon bridge
A pontoon bridge or floating bridge is a bridge that floats on water and in which barge- or boat-like pontoons support the bridge deck and its dynamic loads. While pontoon bridges are usually temporary structures, some are used for long periods of time...
was built in parallel to the old bridge. With its concrete abutment
Abutment
An abutment is, generally, the point where two structures or objects meet. This word comes from the verb abut, which means adjoin or having common boundary. An abutment is an engineering term that describes a structure located at the ends of a bridge, where the bridge slab adjoins the approaching...
s, and steel rafts and superstructure, the bridge was 227 metres in length, 6,3 metres wide, and had a 37 metres long swing span
Swing bridge
A swing bridge is a movable bridge that has as its primary structural support a vertical locating pin and support ring, usually at or near to its centre of gravity, about which the turning span can then pivot horizontally as shown in the animated illustration to the right...
to allow the passage of ships. Soon insufficient, it was widened to 8,5 metres in 1921-22, and at the same time the old floating bridge closed for traffic.
The western suburbs continued to prosper however, and soon after a decision in the City Council in 1931 work begun on a double concrete arch bridge
Arch bridge
An arch bridge is a bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved arch. Arch bridges work by transferring the weight of the bridge and its loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either side...
- for a year the largest in the world - some 100 metres north of the existent bridge. When inaugurated in 1934, the bridge was 580 metres long and 27,4 metres wide, with beam viaducts, with spans of 13 metres, flanking the main 181 metres wide double arch on both sides. A vertical clearance of 26 metres was chosen because of a planned sea port north of the bridge. The bridge was divided into one section for road traffic and one for the tramway. In the early 1950s the tramway was converted to metro railway
Stockholm Metro
The Stockholm Metro is a metro system in Stockholm, Sweden. The first line opened in 1950, and today the system has 100 stations in use, of which 47 are underground and 53 above ground. There are seven lines numbered from 10 to 19, in three groups identified by a color: the Green, Red and Blue lines...
.
The design work for the 1934 bridge was credited to Swedish architect Paul Hedqvist
Paul Hedqvist
Paul Hedqvist was a Swedish modernist architect with many official commissions in Sweden through the 1930s, including housing projects, major bridges, many schools, and urban planning work. His practice evolved into designing office towers and at least one major stadium in the postwar 1950s...
.
By the end of the 20th century, the roadway was in such bad state the bridge had to be shut off for heavy vehicles during a long period. After a new third arch bridge had been added south of the old and inaugurated in 2002, the two original bridges were in practice rebuilt and the entire structure officially inaugurated by Crown Princess Victoria
Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden
Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden, Duchess of Västergötland is the heiress-apparent to the Swedish throne. If she ascends to the throne as expected, she will be Sweden's fourth queen regnant .-Early life:...
August 31, 2005.
See also
- List of bridges in Stockholm
- VästerbronVästerbronVästerbron is an arch bridge in central Stockholm, Sweden. With a total length exceeding 600 m, 340 m of which stretches over water, it is one of the major bridges in Stockholm, offering one of the most panoramic views of the central part of the city centering on Gamla stan, the old town...
- EssingeledenEssingeledenEssingeleden is a motorway that goes from Solna to Stockholm, Sweden, crossing the westmost parts of central Stockholm, by going over Kungsholmen, Lilla Essingen, and Stora Essingen....
- EkelundsbronEkelundsbronEkelundsbron is a bridge in Stockholm, Sweden. Passing over the canal Karlbergskanalen, it connects the city district Stadshagen on Kungsholmen to the northern suburb Solna....
- AlviksbronAlviksbronAlviksbron is a box girder bridge in central Stockholm, Sweden. Stretching over Oxhålssundet, it connects Stora Essingen island to the western suburb Bromma. Built 1996-1998 by the Nordic Construction Company at a cost of 180 million SEK, it has served the Tvärbanan light rail line and pedestrians...
- GröndalsbronGröndalsbronGröndalsbron are two bridges in central Stockholm, Sweden, connecting the island Stora Essingen to the southern mainland district Gröndal.The older bridge, inaugurated in 1967, forms a 460-metre section of the Essingeleden motorway, of which 260 metres constitute the bridge, divided into three...
External links
- Tekniska museet - A photo of the bridge in 1912.
- Stockholmskällan - Historical images of Tranebergsbron.
