Årstabroarna

Årstabroarna ( _en. The Årsta bridges) are two parallel railway viaducts in central Stockholm, Sweden. Passing over the watercourse of Årstaviken and the islets Årsta holmar, they connect the major island Södermalm to the southern mainland district Årsta.

Eastern Årsta Bridge

The eastern bridge, the older of the two and still often referred to as "Årstabron" ("The Årsta Bridge"), is still in operation almost 80 years after its inauguration in 1929. When projected in the early 1920s, an agreement between the state and the city stipulated the arterial railway passing through the city had to be made independent of the sea route passing beneath it. It was therefore decided that the railway should be relocated to a bridge passing over Årsta holmar, with a horizontal clearance of 26 metres ensured by a bascule bridge over the northern passage, and a truss arch bridge over the southern passage offering a span of 100 metres.cite book
last = Dufwa | first = Arne
title = Stockholms tekniska historia: Trafik, broar, tunnelbanor, gator
year = 1985
publisher = Stockholms gatukontor and Kommittén för Stockholmsforskning
location = Uppsala | id = ISBN 91-37-08725-1
pages = 208-209 | chapter = Broar och viadukter: Årsta bron]

In front of a reworked agreement in 1925, the city, intending to add an iron roadway passing above the present railway, required the bridge to be reinforced accordingly, and additionally it was decided the planned bascule bridge should be replaced by a lift bridge. The plans were carried through and the 753 metres long bridge opened in 1929.

The bridge, on its completion the longest bridge in Sweden, was designed be the architect Cyrillus Johansson (1884-1959) and the engineers Ernst Nilsson (1874-1946) and Salomon Kasarnowsky (1887-1960). It has often been resembled to a classical Roman aqueduct, and is today declared a historical landmark.cite book
title = Guide till Stockholms arkitektur
edition = 2nd ed. | year = 1999
publisher = Arkitektur förlag
location = Stockholm| id = ISBN 91-86050-41-9
pages = 143 | chapter = Södra innerstaden] cite web
title = Fosters faluröda
publisher = Sveriges Arkitekter
date = 2005-09-20
url = http://www.arkitekt.se/s16655
accessdate = 2007-01-12]

The possibility to add a traffic route atop the bridge were discussed at several different occasions during the remaining of the 20th century, the most elaborated plans, in 1960, being to have a motorway, called "Tantoleden", connect Ringvägen and Årsta by building a new bridge on the west side of the old.

Western Årsta Bridge

A western bridge, designed by Sir Norman Foster (1935-), 833 metres long and 19,5 metres wide, was finally inaugurated in 2005. Along with the new bridge a new commuter train station, Årstaberg, was created south of the bridges.cite web
title = Nu rullar tågen över Nya Årstabron
publisher = Banverket
date = 2005-05-13
url = http://www.banverket.se/upload/pdf/jarnvagsnatet/Stockholm/Arsta/Arsta_faktablad_0505.pdf
accessdate = 2007-01-12
format=PDF] Twice the width of the old, thus permitting an elevated pathway next to the railway, the pillars of the new bridge are not only much slender, but also reduced to ten, less than half of the old. Preceded by two decades of fiery debate, as Foster had the bridge painted in falu red, a traditional deep red colour, the bridge was nicked falukorven by its slanderers.

Gallery

References

See also

* List of bridges in Stockholm
* Skansbron
* Skanstullsbron
* Johanneshovsbron
* Liljeholmsbron
* Tvärbanan

External links

* [http://www.stockholmskallan.se/index.php?sokning=1&action=sok&fritext=%C5rstabron Stockholmskällan] - historical images of Årstabron.
* [http://www.banverket.se/templates/NyheterTH____2747.asp Banverket – Nya Årstabron i Stockholm]
* [http://www.fosterandpartners.com/Projects/ByLocation/Sweden.aspx Norman Foster & Partners - Arstabridge, 1994-2005]