The old city center of Maastricht lies on the western bank of the Maas, connected with the eastern bank via the Sint Servaas Bridge. The suburb of Wick sprung up on the other (east) side, its importance increasing when the train station and some industries were establised there, including the enormous Sphinx Ceramics Factory. When this factory moved and its site was used to erect housing, the influx of new residents made it necessary to create a new footbridge to be able to walk or cycle to the old center, which houses the university and continues to be the main shopping center for the town.

The plans published here are the latest in a fluid planning process that began in 1992 and will probably continue in flux until the city comes to a final decision.

The intense river traffic required an unobstructed span of 142 yards/130 meters between supports and a free overhead clearance of 10.93 yards/10 meters. In design terms, this high clearance meant that the bridge slab needed to be placed on the lower part of the structural system in order to reduce as much as possible the difference between the transit level on the bridge and its points of access.

The structural system proposed, therefore, was based on a box girder. This allows people to move along inside it at a lower level of the structural whole, and provides overhead cover, making for a more friendly environment for cyclists and pedestrians.

The bridge looks like a constant-section girder, although in fact its depth varies, as it is a single girder in the center of the span and a double girder at the supporting edges. In the central part, the slab hangs down from the upper girder, in order to diminish the visual impact of the bridge.

Avoiding methods of suspension that would require masts and cables, the structural system proposed here provides a formal neutrality that will allow the new bridge to fit into its environment with natural discretion.