The hover-cycle lane has landed! LED-lit roundabout for bikes looks like a UFO

The 'Hovenring' will 'hover' over a busy motorway in Dutch city Eindhoven

New housing estate meant crossing needed changing to cope with traffic

It's held in air by 230ft pylon attached to 24 cables and weights 1m kilos



As cycling has blossomed in popularity across the world, so too have road deaths associated with it.

But one designer has come up with an ingenious idea to make traveling by bike safer: an LED-lit hover-ring that allows cyclists to soar above the HGVs on a donut-shaped overpass that looks more like a UFO than a cycle path.

Designed by ipv Delft, the 'Hovenring' was commissioned by the Dutch city of Eindhoven to 'hover' over a busy motorway intersection that has seen a number of accidents to cyclists in recent years.

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Safety first: The 'Hovenring' was commissioned by the Dutch city of Eindhoven to 'hover' over a busy motorway intersection that has seen a number of accidents to cyclists in recent years

Flying saucer: The LED-lit hovenring looks more like a UFO than a cycle path

'Like a flying saucer,' the firm's website says, 'the steel bridge hovers above the Heerbaan/Meerenakkerweg intersection, its impressive pylon marking the entrance way to the cities of Eindhoven and Veldhoven.



'There used to be a level crossing here, but the development of a nearby housing estate meant the intersection needed changing in order to cope with growing traffic.



Video: www.hovenring.com on Vimeo

Gateway: The steel bridge will 'hover' above the Heerbaan/Meerenakkerweg intersection, marking the entrance to the cities of Eindhoven and Veldhoven

New idea: The firm says there used to be a level crossing there, but the development of a nearby housing estate meant the intersection needed changing in order to cope with growing traffic

Safer all round: Lights attached to a cable framework in between the pylon and bridge deck and to the inner surface of the circular counterweight illuminate the intersection underneath, making it a safer place for pedestrians as well

Heavyweight: A 230-foot tall central pylon was erected, which was then connected by 24 steel cables to the circular bridge deck to hold a structure weighing more than one million kilograms

'As Eindhoven City Council refrains from cyclist underpasses and didn’t want a level crossing roundabout either, they asked (us) to look at possible solutions. A circular cable-stayed bridge soon appeared to be the best option.'

It adds that 'the functional lighting is integrated into the railing, where LED-lighting illuminates the bridge deck and ensures facial recognition of the bridge users at the same time'.

Lights attached to a cable framework in between the pylon and bridge deck and to the inner surface of the circular counterweight illuminate the intersection underneath, making it a safer place for pedestrians as well.

Construction started on February 11 2011 and the suspended roundabout opened the following December.



A 230-foot tall central pylon was erected, which was then connected by 24 steel cables to the circular bridge deck to hold a structure weighing more than one million kilograms.

But within a few weeks, unexpected vibrations in the cables caused by wind forced it to be closed while engineers worked to fix the problem.

After extensive research by structural experts, high frequency and low frequency vibration dampeners were attached to the cables to resolve the vibration issues. The Hovenring officially reopened to the public on 29 June 2012.



