Zeeland Bridge

A bridge about five kilometres long is not easily summed up in a single photograph. At the Zeeland Bridge, the repetition of the piers helps: you do not need to see the end to get a sense of its length. The Oosterschelde does the rest.

The bridge connects Noord-Beveland with Schouwen-Duiveland and was opened by Queen Juliana on 15 December 1965. It was initially called the Oosterschelde Bridge. The name Zeeland Bridge came later. At its opening, it was the longest bridge in Europe.

A faster connection

The province decided to build it in 1962. A better connection was needed between Schouwen-Duiveland and central Zeeland, including towards the port and industrial area of Vlissingen-Oost. Waiting for a road connection via the closure of the Oosterschelde would have taken years.

The Zeeland Bridge is therefore often mentioned in the same breath as the Delta Works. Yet the bridge itself is not part of those flood-protection works. It was built in the same period and transformed access within Zeeland, but it does not hold back seawater.

On 15 December 2015, exactly fifty years after it opened, the bridge became a listed national monument. This also recognised the significance of its design and the engineering achievement.

Photographically, much of its appeal lies in the rhythm. The concrete stays the same while water, sky and light keep changing. A low viewpoint makes the piers look heavier; leaving more room above the horizon gives the open landscape greater importance. The bridge can be the main subject or a line within a much larger picture.

This series is about that interaction between a large structure and a landscape that pays little attention to such a tidy design. A simple shape, but enough to keep you occupied longer than you might expect.