Widnes-Runcorn Transporter Bridge
| Widnes-Runcorn Transporter Bridge | |
|---|---|
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| Coordinates | 53°20′48″N 2°44′11″W / 53.3466°N 2.7363°WCoordinates: 53°20′48″N 2°44′11″W / 53.3466°N 2.7363°W |
| Carries | Vehicles Pedestrians |
| Crosses | River Mersey |
| Locale | Widnes / Runcorn |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Transporter Bridge |
| Longest span | 300m (1,000 ft) |
| Clearance below | 25m (82 ft) |
| History | |
| Designer | John Webster |
| Construction start | 1901 |
| Opened | 1905 |
| Closed | 1961 |
The Runcorn-Widnes Transporter Bridge crossed the river Mersey and Manchester Ship Canal linking the towns of Runcorn and Widnes. It was completed in 1905, it was Britain's first transporter bridge and the largest of its type ever built in the world. It continued in use until 22 July 1961 when it was replaced by a through arch bridge opened the previous day, which is now known as the Silver Jubilee Bridge. The transporter bridge was then demolished.
At the beginning of the 20th century the only means of crossing the river Mersey at Runcorn Gap were by rail on the Runcorn Railway Bridge (which also had a footpath) or by using the ancient ferry (which was a rowing boat). In the 1890s the Manchester Ship Canal had been constructed and this meant that the journey by ferry had to be made in two stages, with a climb over the wall of the canal between the stages. A road bridge was clearly needed but it would have to pass high enough over the canal to allow the passage of ocean-going ships. The cost of doing this was felt to be prohibitive.
In 1899 the Widnes & Runcorn Bridge Company was established under the chairmanship of Sir John Brunner to investigate the options. Their decision was to build a transporter bridge. This would be cheaper than an orthodox type of bridge and the passage of the transporter car could be timed to allow the passage of the ships. The first transporter bridge in the world had been opened in 1893 in Bilbao, Spain. This had been followed in 1898 by transporter bridges in Rouen, France and in Bizerta, which is now in Tunisia. Parliamentary approval had already been obtained for a transporter bridge over the River Usk at Newport, Monmouthshire. This was then followed by the construction of a transporter bridge in Middlesbrough over the River Tees in 1911.
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