Lysaker Bridge

The Lysaker Bridge (Norwegian: Lysakerbrua or Lysakerbroen) is a road bridge between Sollerud in Oslo and Lysaker in Bærum.

A road bridge has existed on the same location, at the outflux of the river Lysakerelva into Lysakerfjorden, for several hundred years. Lysaker became a traffic hub between the capital Oslo and its western surroundings after the Kongsberg Silver Mines were opened in 1624.[1] In 1716, during the Great Northern War, it was the site of a Dano-Norwegian bombardment of Swedish troops who tried to cross the bridge.[2]

A modern road (Drammensveien) was finished in 1859.[3] In 1872 the Drammen Line railroad was constructed, creating its own bridge at the same location.[1]

On the night between 13 and 14 April 1940 the bridge was the site of the Lysaker Bridge sabotage, arguably the first act of sabotage in Norway during World War II.[2]

In August 1920 a traffic count put the number of private cars at 950. There were also 207 trucks, 227 motorbikes, 728 bikes, 365 caravans, 22 horse riders and 2,958 pedestrians.[4] Today, only motorized vehicles are allowed as the bridge has become a part of European route E18.[5]

Located on the border between the capital Oslo and the largest commuter district Bærum, the Lysaker Bridge has been vital to the rapidly expanding post-WWII car commuting in Greater Oslo. In 1990 it had an annual average daily traffic of about 100,000 cars, and was as such Norway's most trafficked bridge.[6] This number had been about 10,000 in the late 1940s and 67,000 in 1970.[7] In the 2000s the car count had risen to 170,000.[1]

In 1961 the road was expanded to four lanes, two in each direction.[5] Another major expansion followed in 1980.[3] From March to June 1990 the bridge underwent another expansion from six to seven lanes, to the cost of NOK 8 million.[6][8]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Lysaker". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Retrieved 11 July 2014.
  2. 1 2 Haave, Morten (2010). "Lysakeaksjonen". Årbok for Asker og Bærum historielag (in Norwegian). Asker: Asker og Bærum historielag. 51: 110–113. ISSN 1504-3649.
  3. 1 2 Bakken, Tor Chr. (ed.). "Lysaker (strøk i østre Bærum)". Budstikkas store Asker og Bærum-leksikon (in Norwegian).
  4. ↑ Myhre, Jan Eivind (1982). Bærum 1840-1980 (in Norwegian). Oslo: Universitetsforlaget. p. 203.
  5. 1 2 Bakken, Tor Chr. (ed.). "Drammensveien". Budstikkas store Asker og Bærum-leksikon (in Norwegian).
  6. 1 2 Langen, Per Arne (22 March 1990). "Bredere på Lysaker". Aftenposten Aften (in Norwegian). p. 7.
  7. ↑ Myhre, 1982: p. 327
  8. ↑ Wiik, Karsten (18 June 1990). "Ingen propp på Lysaker". Aftenposten Aften (in Norwegian). p. 7.

Coordinates: 59°54′48″N 10°38′27″E / 59.9133°N 10.6408°E / 59.9133; 10.6408

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