Acton swing bridge

Last updated

Acton swing bridge
Acton swing bridge.jpg
Coordinates 53°16′48″N2°36′03″W / 53.279882°N 2.600702°W / 53.279882; -2.600702
CarriesRoad traffic
Crosses River Weaver
Locale Cheshire, England
Characteristics
Design Swing truss bridge
Material Steel
Total length83.5 metres (274 ft)
History
Constructed by John Arthur Saner (design)
Opened10 August 1933 (1933-08-10)
Location
Acton swing bridge

The Acton swing bridge is a swing bridge spanning the River Weaver in the village of Acton Bridge in north Cheshire, England. First operated in 1933, it carries the A49 trunk road.

Contents

History

The bridge is 83.5 m long and 8 m high bowstring truss balanced swing bridge, based on an 1893 design by John Arthur Saner. [1] [2] It has two slightly skew spans of 25 m each, with the twin riveted steel trusses supported on a mass concrete pontoon chamber. [2]


Public Works Facilities Scheme (Acton Swing Bridge) Confirmation Act 1931
Act of Parliament
Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (Variant 1, 2022).svg
Citation 21 & 22 Geo. 5. c. xxiii
Dates
Royal assent 11 June 1931
Text of statute as originally enacted

It was built in an open position between 1931 and 1933 at a cost of £52,000, [2] shutting for the first time on 10 August 1933. [3] The current bridge replaced an older stone bridge which had been able to carry only one line of traffic with an axle weight limit of 8 tons (the first bridge across the Weaver at this point was built in 1751). [3] The current bridge is approximately 100 m north (downstream) of the old bridge's abutments, visible on the river banks from the Leigh Arms car park. [4]

It has been subject to periodic strengthening (e.g. in 1987) [1] and repair (e.g. in 2015). [5] Today the structure of the bridge is maintained by the Canal & River Trust; Cheshire West and Chester Council is responsible for maintaining the A49 road which it carries. [5]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trent and Mersey Canal</span> Canal in England

The Trent and Mersey Canal is a 93+12-mile (150 km) canal in Derbyshire, Staffordshire and Cheshire in north-central England. It is a "narrow canal" for the vast majority of its length, but at the extremities to the east of Burton upon Trent and north of Middlewich, it is a wide canal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">River Weaver</span> River in Cheshire, England

The River Weaver is a river, navigable in its lower reaches, running in a curving route anti-clockwise across west Cheshire, northern England. Improvements to the river to make it navigable were authorised in 1720 and the work, which included eleven locks, was completed in 1732. An unusual clause in the enabling Act of Parliament stipulated that profits should be given to the County of Cheshire for the improvement of roads and bridges, but the navigation was not initially profitable, and it was 1775 before the first payments were made. Trade continued to rise, and by 1845, over £500,000 had been given to the county.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A49 road</span> Road in England

The A49 is an A road in western England, which traverses the Welsh Marches region. It runs north from Ross-on-Wye in Herefordshire via Hereford, Leominster, Ludlow, Shrewsbury and Whitchurch, then continues through central Cheshire to Warrington and Wigan before terminating at its junction with the A6 road just south of Bamber Bridge, near the junction of the M6, M65 and M61 motorways.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swing bridge</span> Bridge that rotates horizontally around a vertical axis

A swing bridge is a movable bridge that can be rotated horizontally around a vertical axis. It has as its primary structural support a vertical locating pin and support ring, usually at or near to its center of gravity, about which the swing span can then pivot horizontally as shown in the animated illustration to the right.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anderton Boat Lift</span> Two caisson lift lock near Anderton, Cheshire, England

The Anderton Boat Lift is a two-caisson lift lock near the village of Anderton, Cheshire, in North West England. It provides a 50-foot (15.2 m) vertical link between two navigable waterways: the River Weaver and the Trent and Mersey Canal. The structure is designated as a scheduled monument, and is included in the National Heritage List for England; it is also known as one of the Seven Wonders of the Waterways.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Broadway Bridge (Manhattan)</span> Bridge in New York City

The Broadway Bridge is a vertical-lift bridge across the Harlem River Ship Canal in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It connects the neighborhoods of Inwood on Manhattan Island and Marble Hill on the mainland. The bridge consists of two decks. The lower deck carries Broadway, which is designated as U.S. Route 9 at this location. The upper deck carries the New York City Subway's IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line, serving the 1 train.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silver Jubilee Bridge</span> Bridge in northwest England

The Silver Jubilee Bridge crosses the River Mersey and the Manchester Ship Canal at Runcorn Gap between Runcorn and Widnes in Halton, England. It is a through arch bridge with a main arch span of 361 yards. It was opened in 1961 as a replacement for the Widnes–Runcorn Transporter Bridge. In 1975–77 the carriageway was widened, after which the bridge was given its official name in honour of the Queen's Silver Jubilee. It carries the A533 road and a cantilevered footway. The bridge is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building. The bridge was closed to vehicles for refurbishment upon the opening of the new Mersey Gateway Bridge, but reopened as a toll bridge in February 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Senator William V. Roth Jr. Bridge</span> Bridge in St. Georges, Delaware

The Senator William V. Roth Jr. Bridge is a concrete and steel cable-stayed bridge that spans the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal near St. Georges, Delaware. The bridge is located near a tolled section of Delaware Route 1 that runs parallel to the St. Georges Bridge carrying U.S. Route 13. In November 2006, the bridge was named after U.S. Senator William V. Roth Jr., who not only lent his name to the Roth IRA, but was instrumental in securing federal funding to build the bridge. It is owned and operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and does not carry a toll, despite the location of a nearby toll plaza.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Acton Bridge</span> Human settlement in England

Acton Bridge is a village and civil parish in Cheshire, England. Located within the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester on the River Weaver, it is near the Trent and Mersey Canal at approximately 53˚ 16′ N, 2˚ 36′ W. It has a population of 602, increasing to 631 at the 2011 Census. Acton Bridge is served by its own railway station, operated by London Northwestern.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Navigable aqueduct</span> Man-made channel for water and transport

Navigable aqueducts are bridge structures that carry navigable waterway canals over other rivers, valleys, railways or roads. They are primarily distinguished by their size, carrying a larger cross-section of water than most water-supply aqueducts. Roman aqueducts were used to transport water and were created in Ancient Rome. The 662-metre (2,172 ft) long steel Briare aqueduct carrying the Canal latéral à la Loire over the River Loire was built in 1896. It was ranked as the longest navigable aqueduct in the world for more than a century, until the Magdeburg Water Bridge in Germany took the title in the early 21st century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University Heights Bridge</span> Bridge in New York City

The University Heights Bridge is a steel-truss revolving swing bridge across the Harlem River in New York City. It connects West 207th Street in the Inwood neighborhood of Manhattan with West Fordham Road in the University Heights neighborhood of the Bronx. The bridge is operated and maintained by the New York City Department of Transportation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George C. Platt Bridge</span> Bridge in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The George C. Platt Memorial Bridge is a through truss bridge that carries PA 291 over the Schuylkill River in Southwest Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was opened to traffic in 1951, replacing a swing bridge to the south which carried Penrose Ferry Road across the river. Originally called the Penrose Avenue Bridge, it was renamed in 1979 to honor Civil War hero George Crawford Platt (1842–1912). Today, the Platt Bridge is a key arterial route which carries an average of 56,000 vehicles daily.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cheshire West and Chester</span> Borough in England

Cheshire West and Chester is a local government district with borough status in Cheshire, England. It was established on 1 April 2009 as part of the 2009 local government changes, by virtue of an order under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007. It superseded the boroughs of Ellesmere Port and Neston, Vale Royal and the City of Chester; its council is a unitary authority, having also assumed the functions and responsibilities of the former Cheshire County Council within its area. The remainder of ceremonial Cheshire is composed of Cheshire East, Halton and Warrington. Cheshire West and Chester has three key urban areas: Chester, Ellesmere Port and Northwich/Winsford.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Middlewich Branch</span>

The Middlewich Branch of the Shropshire Union Canal is located in Cheshire, in the north west of England, and runs between Middlewich, where it joins the Trent and Mersey Canal, and Barbridge Junction, where it joins the main line of the Shropshire Union Canal. It is 10 miles (16 km) long, and was planned as part of the Chester Canal, which was authorised in 1772, but the company ran out of money, and construction did not begin until 1827. The Trent and Mersey insisted that there should be no direct connection at Middlewich, and instead built the short Wardle Canal to join the two, charging large compensation tolls for traffic passing along it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coombs Covered Bridge</span> United States historic place

The Coombs Covered Bridge is a wooden covered bridge which carries Coombs Bridge Road over the Ashuelot River in northern Winchester, New Hampshire. It was built in 1843, and is one of the state's small number of surviving 19th-century covered bridges. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jefferson Avenue–Huron River and Harbin Drive–Silver Creek Canal Bridges</span> United States historic place

The Jefferson Avenue–Huron River and Harbin Drive–Silver Creek Canal Bridges are two separate bridges, sharing a continuous railing, that were jointly listed on the National Register of Historic Places on February 10, 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dutton Horse Bridge</span> Bridge in Acton Bridge, Cheshire

Dutton Horse Bridge is a timber twin-span footbridge across part of the Weaver navigation, near the villages of Acton Bridge and Dutton in Cheshire, England. The bridge is located at SJ 583 767, between the Dutton Locks and Dutton Viaduct. It carries the towpath across a subsidiary channel used to regulate the water level, at the point where it rejoins the main river.

Acton Bridge is a civil parish in Cheshire West and Chester, England. It is mainly rural and contains the village of Acton Bridge. The parish is traversed by the River Weaver and Weaver Navigation in an east–west direction, the West Coast Main Line in a north–south direction, and the A49 road runs from northwest to southeast. It contains nine buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List for England as designated listed buildings. Two of these are listed at Grade II*, and the other seven at Grade II. Most of the buildings are houses or farm buildings, but the list also includes a railway viaduct, a lock on the Weaver Navigation, and a guidepost.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nantwich Aqueduct</span>

Nantwich Aqueduct is a navigable aqueduct in Acton in Cheshire, England, which carries the Shropshire Union Canal over the Chester to Nantwich road. Designed by Thomas Telford, it dates from around 1826 and is listed at grade II*.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wallaby Rocks Bridge</span> Bridge in New South Wales, Australia

The Wallaby Rocks Bridge is a heritage-listed road bridge that carries Hill End Road across the Turon River, at Wallaby Rocks near Sofala, New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by Percy Allan and built in 1897 by E. Taylor of Balmain. The bridge is owned by Transport for NSW. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 20 June 2000.

References

  1. 1 2 "Acton Swing Bridge". Bridge Design and Assessment. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 "Merseyside Bridges: 9. Acton Swing Bridge". The Happy Pontist. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  3. 1 2 "23-Acton Bridge - Weaver Navigation". Movable Bridges in the British Isles. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  4. "Acton Swing Bridge". Heritage Locations. Transport Trust. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  5. 1 2 "Essential repair work to Acton Swing Bridge". Canal River Trust. Retrieved 30 August 2016.