The road bridge is a foil to the wrought iron lattice girder railway bridge of the London and North Western Railway designed by William Baker and built between and Many ideas were considered, including a new transporter bridge or a swing bridge but these were considered to be impractical and it was decided that the best solution was a high-level bridge upstream from the railway bridge.
The main arch is yards m long and each side arch measures 83 yards 76 m. During its construction , rivets were used. Its height over the river bed is feet 87 m and the headroom over the ship canal is 80 feet 24 m. During its initial construction 5, tons of steel were used and 7, tons of concrete. In recent decades traffic on the bridge continued to grow to over 80, vehicles a day, and there was frequent congestion.
In order to alleviate this, a further crossing was built, known as the Mersey Gateway. This is a six-lane toll bridge to the east of the Runcorn to Widnes Road Bridge which opened on 14 October Following the opening of the Mersey Gateway, the Runcorn to Widnes Road Bridge was immediately closed for maintenance and refurbishment. For more information on the bridge, its construction and history please visit its Wikipedia page here.
A former economist, he now specialises in innovation management and environmental management. The second phase was the main and side arches, and this was completed by Dorman Long of Middlesbrough. Leonard Fairclough was sub-contracted to build the bridge deck, viaduct and side spans. The bridge was officially opened on July 21, by Princess Alexandra.
At this time, it was the longest vehicular span bridge in the country, but this record was superseded by the building of the Tamar Bridge in South West England. Still, it remains the third longest span arch bridge in the world and is probably the longest local authority-owned highway bridge in the UK.
The bridge has transformed the town of Runcorn. Previously, most through traffic avoided Runcorn because of the length of time it took to use the transporter bridge. After the bridge was built, it provided a route between north Cheshire and south Lancashire, and it is estimated that trade in the town shops increased sixfold after the bridge was built. Traffic density trebled too, which is why the bridge was widened in to cope with the increases in traffic.
The main arch is cantilevered steelwork, while the carriageway is suspended from the arch by 48 lock-cell wire ropes. To save costs, the steel was riveted instead of welded, with about , rivets holding the bridge together. The arch is a two-pinned bowstring construction designed to withstand the oscillations generated by the adjacent railway bridge.
The bridge is The skewback piers are concrete on soft sandstone. They are designed to stand 3, tonnes of thrust, which is enough to carry the heaviest traffic. The deck is concrete on steel beams. Between and , the road was widened to The footpath at one side of the carriageway is 1. In , 10 expansion joints were replaced and the carriageway resurfaced with asphalt. Further refurbishment took place in to protect the steel from corrosion. As well as carrying traffic, the Runcorn-Widnes bridge has been used for charity fundraising.
In a zip ride was attached to the bridge and riders used it to cross the River Mersey to raise funds for Target Ovarian Cancer.
Just as the transporter bridge was inadequate to carry the increased volume of traffic, the Widnes-Runcorn bridge was considered insufficient when traffic volumes increased to 80, vehicles a day. The Runcorn-Widnes Bridge is currently closed and is due to reopen in Autumn at the earliest after major refurbishment. This is to enable traffic to move freely across the river.
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