Hillegommerbrug

“A bridge keeper’s life,” mused old Mr. Van der Plas, “is not all tea and tulips.” He adjusted his cap and glanced at the Hillegommerbrug. It stood proudly, a steel sentinel against the sky. This wasn’t Amsterdam’s most famous bridge, not by a long shot. But for Mr. Van der Plas, and the people of Hillegom and Beinsdorp, it was a lifeline. The Hillegommerbrug, you see, replaced an older swing bridge from 1886. That bridge, in turn, had replaced a ferry. The current bridge, built in 1961, was a testament to progress. It could handle the heavier trucks and increasing traffic that the old bridge couldn’t. Mr. Van der Plas remembered the grand opening on January 29th, 1961. The whole town had turned out to celebrate. He even got to shake the mayor’s hand. In 1985, they replaced the wooden deck of the Hillegommerbrug with a stalen one. A much-needed upgrade. Then, in 2015, the lifting mechanism started acting up. The bridge was stuck closed for a while. A real headache for everyone. A year later, they refurbished the whole thing, including a brand new bridge deck. But the Hillegommerbrug, despite its improvements, still caused traffic jams. There was even talk of banning trucks altogether. Perhaps changing the traffic light timings would help. Mr. Van der Plas sighed. From his little bridge house on the Hillegom side, he controlled the bridge’s movements. A simple lever, but a heavy responsibility. He was the gatekeeper, the connector of communities. And as the Hillegommerbrug began its slow ascent to allow a cargo ship passage, Mr. Van der Plas smiled. Not all tea and tulips, perhaps. But a life of service nonetheless.