Railway Bridges and Embankment Baardwijkse Overlaat, NETHERLANDS
The Railway Bridges and Embankment that cross the Baardwijkse Overlaat are an important testament to the intensive leather and shoe industry of the 19th-20th centuries in the North Brabant province of southern Netherlands. The three Railway Bridges are listed as Dutch National Monuments.
The originally 881-metre long Halvezolenlijntje railway bridge was built in 1885 as part of the Langstraat railway line from Lage Zwaluwe to ‘s-Hertogenbosch, serving until 1972 as transportation infrastructure for the shoe factories. From 1916, after the construction of the Afwateringskanaal, the sections of the railway bridge that were not over water or roads were replaced with a railway embankment. Since 1978, the 48-hectare former Baardwijkse inundation area has been owned by Natuurmonumenten, and has become home to at least 11 species of trees and shrubs and 25 species of birds, well loved by hikers, bird watchers and other visitors.
In the 1990s, the former railway bridges and embankment were transformed into a pedestrian and a cycling route, with the lush vegetation growing atop the embankments offering users protection from the elements. The conservation project of the Railway Bridges in the Langstraat Region won a European Heritage Award / Europa Nostra Award in 2013 for giving a contemporary function to the area’s historical and industrial heritage, while integrating it in its natural setting.
This important industrial heritage is now threatened by plans to modernise and widen the cycling path to accommodate increased volume and faster electric bikes, and to be part of a regional fast cycling route (SFR). The plan is to build a parallel modern concrete bridge beside the old steel railway bridge structures and to also span this across a length of the embankment, which is to be excavated to the surrounding ground level where pedestrians will then be expected to walk.
The proposed plan would further damage 37 historic brick piers (21 of which are now hidden in the dike and would be dug bare) by using them as a foundation for the modern concrete bridge. The plan would destroy 532 trees and 785 metres of shrubs on and along the railway embankment; this would further impoverish the flora in the nature reserve and would make cyclists even more exposed to inclement weather and wind on their trip through the Baardwijkse Overlaat.
The Advisory Panel of the 7 Most Endangered Programme stated: “While we recognise the need for the region and the flanking cities to provide sufficient and modern cycling infrastructure for their citizens, we urge that the design be altered to be respectful of the heritage value and visuals of the original railway bridge structure, and that the embankment be maintained with the important natural shelter provided by the lush vegetation growing along it.”
The Railway Bridges and Embankment Baardwijkse Overlaat were nominated to the 7 Most Endangered Programme 2025 by the Foundation for the Preservation of the Langstraat Railway Bridges (Federatie Behoudt de Langstraatspoorbruggen – FBL) with the endorsement of Bond Heemschut and two other local heritage organisations.
The nominator organised a petition, and wide press coverage for their simpler and less costly ideas, which they presented to the Dutch Council of State. Despite overwhelming support by the Members of the Provincial Council to find a more compatible solution for maintaining the historical and industrial heritage of the railway bridges and piers, and the hedgerows lined embankments threatened by the concrete bridge plan, progress is held up pending a decision by the Council of State.
