The Juliana brigde
In the 1920s, the new Hoograven district was built on the municipal territory of Jutphaas (now Nieuwegein) against the border with Utrecht, formed here by the Vaartsche Rijn.
The movement of goods and people between Rivierenwijk and Hoograven has traditionally been largely done with overhaul boats. The construction of a new bridge became unavoidable with the development of the new neighborhoods and the large increase in traffic. The location of the municipal boundary led to irreconcilable differences of opinion between the municipalities about financing. Only with contributions from nearby companies, the financing was arranged and in 1931 the construction of a drawbridge was started.
The new bridge was used a lot, but from the start it was too narrow to provide a safe passage. In 1934, the evangelistic brother F. Alarm, who was very well known locally, was fatally hit by a car on the bridge, partly because of his fight against alcohol abuse. There was great dismay in the neighborhood and it was decided to call the street that led to the bridge the Broeder Alarmstraat from now on.
The Juliana Bridge could eventually no longer cope with the further increasing traffic. The bridge was demolished in 1957 and replaced by the current Oranjebrug a little further on. The demolition of the bridge inspired a local resident to write the poem on the right.
The photo shows the festive opening of the bridge in 1932 with the mayor of Jutphaas; in the other photo the Juliana Bridge can be seen in the foreground, while the recently completed, still open, Orange Bridge can be seen in the background.