Except for the Koedijkervlotbrug, these bridges are managed by the Province of North Holland. Why are there floating bridges in these locations and not other bridges? And how do they actually work? The answers to 5 pressing questions.

1. Why are there floating bridges over the Noordhollandsch Canal?

Some floating bridges over the Noordhollandsch Canal have existed as long as the canal itself: 200 years. Of course, they are no longer the original bridges. They were made of wood. Communities formed around the crossing, thus they were decisive for how the environment looks today. The floating bridge on the south side of Koedijk, Burgervlotbrug, St. Maartensvlotbrug, and t Zand are still there. On the north side of Koedijk, the Rekervlotbrug was added in 2012 as a cycling connection. The decision to build the floating bridges was made during the construction of the canal by hydraulic engineer Jan Blanken. The canal was dug so that sea vessels could sail to Amsterdam. Therefore, no bridges could be built that would restrict shipping in height. The canal was also about 40 meters wide, so large sea vessels could pass each other. Making a movable bridge of those dimensions was not possible at the time. Thus, Blanken designed a double wooden floating bridge, aimed at the traffic of that time. The bridges can today be used by pedestrians, cyclists, and cars. Heavy traffic must detour via one of the fixed bridges in the area.  

2. What is special about these bridges?

The floating bridges in North Holland are the only floating bridges still in existence in the Netherlands. Once, there were floating bridges in many more places, but they have been replaced. Therefore, 4 floating bridges are listed in the provincial monuments register: the Koedijkervlotbrug, the Burgervlotbrug, the Sint Maartensvlotbrug, and the floating bridge at t Zand. The province protects monuments on that list because they are decisive for the identity of North Holland. Moreover, the floating bridges truly belong to the Noordhollandsch Canal. The canal was constructed as one cohesive project, in which the floating bridges were a prominent part of the overall design.

3. How does a floating bridge work?

In principle, a floating bridge is closed so that cars and other traffic can drive over it. When you drive your car or bike onto the bridge, you first go down a bit over the fixed bridge part, the koeklep. Then you come onto the floats that are floating on the water. And finally, you drive up a bit on the other side. If the bridge needs to open for a ship, boat, or canoe, the floating bridge is opened from the control center Weg- & Waterhuis de Langebalk of the province in Heerhugowaard. First, the bridge operator ensures that traffic on land comes to a stop. This is done with signals, and the operator monitors this via cameras. Once the bridge is empty, the operator lowers the barriers that close the bridge. Then the operator starts opening the bridge. With cables and pulleys, the floats are pulled over the water under the koeklep. This takes a total of just over 200 seconds. Then the navigation traffic receives the signal that it can pass. The operator then follows this process in reverse order.

4. Why are the floating bridges often out of order?

This has various causes. In the past, it has happened that a ship collided with a part of a floating bridge and that the bridge was damaged as a result. Another reason is that too heavy vehicles drive over the bridges. This sometimes immediately causes damage to the bridge, as recently with the Burgervlotbrug. But all those too heavy vehicles also mean that, for example, the cables in the bridge need to be replaced sooner. Such a cable can be compared to an elastic band that stretches every time due to a too heavy vehicle and eventually breaks. Last year, the malfunctions were also related to the adjustments needed to operate the bridges remotely. Properly calibrating all the sensors in the bridges took a lot of time. Sensors, which among other things determine the position of the floats, for example, went out of sync with sudden movements of the floating bridges, such as high wave action. A floating bridge now contains many more sensors, which are necessary for safe remote operation. So the chance of a malfunction is somewhat greater. But after several software updates and changes to settings, remote operation of the floating bridges appears to be working well.

5. Why doesnt the province build fixed bridges in place of the floating bridges?

Because there is no space for that in those locations. The road along the Noordhollandsch Canal runs right next to the water at the bridges. Therefore, there is no room to create a proper on- and off-ramp for a bridge. Furthermore, moving land inward is also not an option, as there is building there. A fixed bridge in another location would technically be possible. But such a fixed bridge would lead to more and heavier traffic. The roads around the floating bridges are not designed for that. They would all have to be addressed, otherwise problems would arise in other areas. Moreover, there is currently no space in the budgets of the province, the national government, and municipalities for a fixed bridge. Other road projects in the Kop van Noord-Holland have been chosen instead. Additionally, the bridges are protected as monuments, so removing them is not allowed either.