The old “swing bridge” – the Zaan Bridge – dates from the mid-1960s and is at the end of its useful life. Therefore, another new bridge will be built at the same spot, which will have a greater clearance and whose passage will also be widened by 4 meters. This is necessary because the dimensions of barges are constantly increasing.
Incidentally, the intensity of road traffic passing the bridge is also increasing noticeably. Currently, it involves about 15,000 car traffic movements per day. The new bridge is expected to require less frequent opening and closing due to its wider dimensions.