| Puddefjord Bridge | |
|---|---|
Puddefjord Bridge | |
| Coordinates | 60°23′03″N5°19′02″E / 60.3841°N 5.3171°E Coordinates: 60°23′03″N5°19′02″E / 60.3841°N 5.3171°E |
| Carries | Six lanes on Norwegian National Road RV 555 Cyclists Pedestrians |
| Crosses | Puddefjord |
| Locale | Bergen, Norway |
| Official name | Puddefjordsbroen |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Arch bridge |
| Total length | 461 m (1,512.5 ft) |
| Longest span | 150 m (492.1 ft) |
| History | |
| Opened | 1956 |
The Puddefjord Bridge (Norwegian : Puddefjordsbroen) is an arch bridge in Bergen, Norway. [1]
Norwegian is a North Germanic language spoken mainly in Norway, where it is the official language. Along with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a dialect continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional varieties, and some Norwegian and Swedish dialects, in particular, are very close. These Scandinavian languages, together with Faroese and Icelandic as well as some extinct languages, constitute the North Germanic languages. Faroese and Icelandic are hardly mutually intelligible with Norwegian in their spoken form because continental Scandinavian has diverged from them. While the two Germanic languages with the greatest numbers of speakers, English and German, have close similarities with Norwegian, neither is mutually intelligible with it. Norwegian is a descendant of Old Norse, the common language of the Germanic peoples living in Scandinavia during the Viking Era.
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. A viaduct may be made from a series of arches, although other more economical structures are typically used today.
Bergen, historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Hordaland on the west coast of Norway. At the end of the first quarter of 2018, the municipality's population was 280,216, and the Bergen metropolitan region has about 420,000 inhabitants. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers 465 square kilometres (180 sq mi) and is on the peninsula of Bergenshalvøyen. The city centre and northern neighbourhoods are on Byfjorden, 'the city fjord', and the city is surrounded by mountains; Bergen is known as the 'city of seven mountains'. Many of the extra-municipal suburbs are on islands. Bergen is the administrative centre of Hordaland, and consists of eight boroughs: Arna, Bergenhus, Fana, Fyllingsdalen, Laksevåg, Ytrebygda, Årstad, and Åsane.
The reinforced concrete bridge consists of two directly adjacent, near-identical bridges, the first of which was built in 1956 and the second in 1999. Norwegian National Road RV 555 crosses Puddefjord bridge over Damsgårdssundet into the tunnels Løvstakk tunnel (Løvstakktunnelen) to Fyllingsdalen and Damsgårds tunnel (Damsgårdstunnelen) to Laksevåg. [2] The bridge carries six lanes of motor vehicles and two cycle/footpaths across the Puddefjorden in central Bergen, between Møhlenpris in the city centre and Gyldenpris in Årstad borough. Although it does not have official motorway status, it is an important part of the city's motorway network, linking the westbound motorway, Sotraveien, to European route E39. [3] [4]
Fyllingsdalen is a borough of the city of Bergen in Hordaland county, Norway. The borough is located southwest of the city centre in the Fyllingsdalen valley, west of the mountain Løvstakken. The neighbourhoods of Fyllingsdalen mainly consist of fairly large apartment buildings with little industry or commerce.
Laksevåg is a borough of the city of Bergen in Hordaland county, Norway. The borough is located in the western part of the municipality. Historically, the area was called Laxevaag, and it was a separate municipality until 1972 when it was merged into Bergen.
Puddefjorden, often anglicized as Pudde Fjord, is an inlet or fjord in the central part of the city of Bergen in Hordaland county, Norway. An arm off of the main Byfjorden, the Puddefjorden is 3.5 kilometres (2.2 mi) long and stretches from the tip of the Nordnes peninsula to the Solheimsviken bay at the entrance to the Store Lungegårdsvannet bay. The fjord is 1.2 kilometres (0.75 mi) at its widest, between Nordnes and the inner part of the borough of Laksevåg. The innermost part of the fjord, known as Damsgårdssundet, is much narrower, scarcely 100 metres (330 ft) wide at its narrowest. The fjord is located next to some of Bergen's most important industrial areas, and has played a significant part in the city's development and industrialisation.
The bridge was important in the development of the valley of Fyllingsdalen, which was annexed by Bergen in 1955. It also served as a more convenient road to the city centre for the residents of Laksevåg, who prior to its construction had to drive through Danmarksplass or take the ferry across the Puddefjord. [5]
Danmarks plass is a square in Årstad borough in the city of Bergen, Norway. Today most famous as one of Norway's busiest road intersections, it was originally known as "Kronstadtorget". After World War II, it received its current name in honour of Denmark's humanitarian efforts in Norway during the war. "Danmarks plass" is commonly used also to describe the immediate surroundings of the square, e.g. Krohnsminde kunstgressbane. Danmarks plass has more air pollution than anywhere else in Bergen, caused by the traffic as well as its location between two hills.
As of 2012, the bridge carried a daily average traffic of 56,098 vehicles. [6]
