Michaelson Road Bridge

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Michaelson Road Bridge
Michaelson Rd Bridge.jpg
Michaelson Road Bridge in 2014 looking north
Coordinates 54°06′30″N3°13′43″W / 54.1082°N 3.2286°W / 54.1082; -3.2286 Coordinates: 54°06′30″N3°13′43″W / 54.1082°N 3.2286°W / 54.1082; -3.2286
CarriesMichaelson Road - motor vehicles, pedestrians
CrossesDevonshire and Buccleuch Docks
Locale Barrow-in-Furness
Official nameMichaelson Road Bridge
Other name(s)Barrow Island Bridge
Characteristics
Design Bascule bridge
Total length315 m (1,033 ft)
Longest span112'-6"
History
Opened1884 (Original bridge)
1967 (Current bridge)
Location
Michaelson Road Bridge

Michaelson Road Bridge is a road bridge connecting Central Barrow to Barrow Island in south Cumbria, England. The original high-level bridge was a swing bridge and then replaced by a pair of lift and roll bridges constructed between 1800 and 1884 then superseded by a more modern pair of bascule bridges in the mid 1960s. [1] It was built at a time when Barrow Island was actually an island and there was strong call for road access between mainland Barrow at the shipyard on Barrow Island. Traffic on the bridge was soon relieved when an old Victorian dock was filled in and space was created for the huge Devonshire Dock Hall complex, traffic now runs along the north side of the building on the A590.

Trams formerly operated across the bridge, but now it solely used for vehicles and pedestrians. A second Devonshire Dock footbridge is planned in the multimillion-pound Waterfront Barrow-in-Furness development.

See also

Related Research Articles

Barrow-in-Furness Town in Cumbria, North-West England

Barrow-in-Furness is a port town in the borough of the same name in Cumbria, North-West England. Historically part of Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1867 and merged with Dalton-in-Furness Urban District in 1974 to form the Borough of Barrow-in-Furness. At the tip of the Furness peninsula, close to the Lake District, it is bordered by Morecambe Bay, the Duddon Estuary and the Irish Sea. In 2011, Barrow's population was 56,745, making it the second largest urban area in Cumbria after Carlisle. Natives of Barrow, as well as the local dialect, are known as Barrovian.

Furness Railway

The Furness Railway (Furness) was a railway company operating in the Furness area of Lancashire in North West England.

Furness

Furness is a peninsula and region of Cumbria in northwestern England. Together with the Cartmel Peninsula it forms North Lonsdale, historically an exclave of Lancashire.

A590 road

The A590 is a trunk road in southern Cumbria, in the north-west of England. It runs north-east to south-west from M6 junction 36, through the towns of Ulverston and Barrow-in-Furness to terminate at Biggar Bank on Walney Island. The road is a mixture of dual carriageway and single carriageway, with the section east of Low Newton, Cumbria to the M6 being mainly dual. Further dual sections are south of Newby Bridge, south of Greenodd and south of Ulverston. The road is the main route for tourists entering the southern Lake District. It has often humorously been described as "the longest cul-de-sac in the world".

Walney Island Island in the United Kingdom

Walney Island, also known as the Isle of Walney, is an island off the west coast of England, at the western end of Morecambe Bay in the Irish Sea. It is part of Barrow-in-Furness, separated from the mainland by Walney Channel, which is spanned by the Jubilee Bridge. Walney is the largest island of the Furness Islands group, both in population and size, as well as the largest English island in the Irish Sea. Its population at the 2011 UK Census was 10,651, distributed evenly across the island's two Wards of Walney North and Walney South.

Dalton railway station Railway station in Cumbria, England

Dalton is a railway station on the Furness Line, which runs between Barrow-in-Furness and Lancaster. The station, situated 5 miles (8 km) north-east of Barrow-in-Furness, serves the town of Dalton-in-Furness in Cumbria. It is owned by Network Rail and managed by Northern Trains.

Barrow Island, Barrow-in-Furness Area and electoral ward of Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England

Barrow Island is an area and electoral ward of Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England. Originally separate from the British mainland, land reclamation in the 1860s saw the northern fringes of the island connect to Central Barrow. Barrow Island is also bound to the south and east by the town's dock system and to the west by Walney Channel. The Ward population taken at the 2011 census was 2,616.

Vickerstown Human settlement in England

Vickerstown is an area of Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England, covered by the wards of Walney North and Walney South. It is an example of a planned estate built for workers by a company needing to expand, having been constructed in the early 20th century by Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering. Vickerstown contains two Conservation Areas and is home to the majority of the population of Walney Island.

Dock Museum

The Dock Museum is situated in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England. Most of its exhibits concern the history of the town, focusing on the shipbuilding industry at VSEL, the steelworks industry — of which Barrow once had the world's largest, the Furness Railway and the World War II bombings of the town. There has been a museum in Barrow since 1907 and in its current location since 1994, when 50,000 people visited it in its first year, visitor numbers peaked at 120,000 in 2001. The museum has free entry and remains under public ownership.

Devonshire Dock Hall

Devonshire Dock Hall is a large indoor shipbuilding and assembly complex that forms part of the BAE Systems shipyard in the Barrow Island area of Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England.

Walney Bridge

Walney Bridge, officially Jubilee Bridge, is a bascule bridge in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England. Completed in 1908, it spans Walney Channel, linking Barrow Island to Walney Island. The bridge carries the A590 trunk road, which has its western terminus on Walney.

Port of Barrow Port in United Kingdom

The Port of Barrow refers to the enclosed dock system within the town of Barrow-in-Furness, England. Morecambe Bay is to the east of the port and the Irish Sea surrounds it to the south and west. The port is currently owned and operated by Associated British Ports Holdings, but some land is shared with BAE Systems Submarine Solutions. Currently consisting of four large docks, the Port of Barrow is one of North West England's most important ports. The docks are as follows: Buccleuch Dock, Cavendish Dock, Devonshire Dock and Ramsden Dock. The port of Barrow is the only deep water port between the Mersey and the Clyde.

Devonshire Dock

Devonshire Dock is the oldest of the four docks which make up the Port of Barrow in Barrow-in-Furness, England. Although the dock falls under the control of Associated British Ports it is currently solely utilised by BAE Systems. Upon completion of the dock, Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone stated 'Barrow would one day become another Liverpool'. Although its shipbuilding capabilities have exceeded those on Merseyside, the port and dock system itself never fully met James Ramsden's grand vision for the town.

The Waterfront Barrow-in-Furness Place in Cumbria, England

The Waterfront Barrow-in-Furness is a £200 million development under construction in and around the Port of Barrow, England. The site covers an area of some 400 acres (160 ha) and was due for completion in 2020. The internal road network is already complete, with construction of a large business park complex ongoing and work on a 400-berth marina and 650 home Marina Village due to start thereafter. In 2010, The Waterfront Barrow-in-Furness ranked as the ninetieth most costly regeneration project in the United Kingdom by Regeneration & Renewal. Progress on the project stalled between 2010 and 2016 due to complications with funding following the disabandonment of the North West Regional Development Agency. BAE Systems opened a large logistics warehouse named the Resolution Building on Dova Way within the designated Business Park Area in October 2016, while and construction of a new access road from Salthouse Road to the Marina Village commenced in May 2017.

Devonshire Buildings

The Devonshire Buildings are two adjacent apartment buildings in the Barrow Island area of Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England. They are both recorded in the National Heritage List for England as designated Grade II* listed buildings.

VSEL Heavy Engineering Workshop

The VSEL Heavy Engineering Workshop located at Michaelson Road in the Barrow Island area of Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England is a Grade II listed former ammunitions workshop that belonged to Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering. Known locally as the 'Gun Shop' the vast complex was constructed in stages between 1875 and 1900 and consists of 42 by 11 bays. The building was a major component of the engineering division within Vickers and supplied the British Army and Royal Navy throughout World War I and World War II. Everything from basic shells to heavy duty gun turrets for ships, tanks and other land vehicles were produced and assembled at the workshop. The Historic England states the following of the building: 'It clearly indicates the scale of operation of the shipbuilding and engineering works at the turn of the century; its roadside frontages make a major contribution to the industrial scene in a town where the buildings of other major C19 industries have been almost completely swept away.'

The following is a timeline of the history of Barrow-in-Furness, England, United Kingdom.

Ramsden Dock railway station was the terminus of the Furness Railway's Ramsden Dock Branch in Barrow-in-Furness, England.

The Scotch Buildings was a large complex of tenement housing located off Duke Street in Barrow-in-Furness, then Lancashire, United Kingdom. The build was commissioned by the Barrow Hematite Steel Company and constructed somewhat hastily by Scottish firm Smith and Caird between 1871 and 1872 to address a chronic housing shortage in the rapidly expanding town. The complex took on a triangular form with a centrally located courtyard. The four storey building was constructed from the iconic Hawcoat sandstone and was bound by Blake Street, Duke Street and Walney Road. Two shops and a working men's club were sited on the three corners of the building. It contained some 260 flats housing over 1,000 residents. The Scotch Buildings were ultimately demolished in 1956, the entire site is now shared by a Travis Perkins outlet and the Former Agrilek Engineering company office, now Saint Mary's Hospice Furniture Warehouse.

Bay Cycle Way

The Bay Cycle Way is an 80-mile (130 km) cycling route around Morecambe Bay in Lancashire and Cumbria in north west England. Most of it forms National Cycle Route 700, while other sections are waymarked as NCN 6, NCN 69 and NCN 70.

References