Northam Bridge

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Northam Bridge
River Itchen, Northam Bridge (geograph 5049896).jpg
Aerial view of the bridge in 2016
Coordinates 50°54′54″N1°23′10″W / 50.915°N 1.386°W / 50.915; -1.386
Carries4 lanes (road)
Crosses River Itchen
Locale Northam, Bitterne Manor (both in Southampton)
Maintained bySouthampton City Council
Preceded by St Denys Railway Bridge
Followed by Itchen Bridge
Characteristics
Total length148 metres (485 ft 7 in)
Width13.5 metres (44 ft 3 in)
Longest span32 metres (105 ft 0 in)
No. of spans5
Piers in water4
Clearance above open-air
Clearance below 9.2 meters (30 ft 2.2 in)
History
Construction start1796 (original);
1954 (current)
Construction end1799 (original);
1954 (current)
Opened1799 (original);
1954 (current)
Location
Northam Bridge

The Northam Bridge is a road bridge across the River Itchen in Southampton, England, linking the suburbs of Northam and Bitterne Manor. The current bridge was the first major prestressed concrete road bridge to be built in the United Kingdom. [1] The bridge carries the A3024 road as a dual carriageway, with two lanes on each carriageway.

Contents

History

Prior to the construction of the Northam Bridge, the southernmost bridge across the River Itchen was at Mansbridge. [2] Mansbridge was the lowest crossing point of the river until the early 18th century, when the Itchen Ferry began operating between Woolston and St Mary's, downriver of Northam. [2]

The Northam Bridge was the idea of David Lance, who acquired land in Bitterne and built Chessel House there in 1796. [2] Realising that access to his land was poor, he encouraged the building of a bridge linking Bitterne Manor to Northam, together with roads from the bridge to Botley and a further bridge over the River Hamble in Bursledon (and onwards to Portsmouth), with the fork between the Bursledon and Botley roads passing close to Chessel House. [2] The Northam Bridge Company was formed in 1796, funded mainly by Portsmouth businessmen. [2]

The new route between Portsmouth and Southampton would be four miles (6 km) shorter than travelling via Mansbridge, and as a result the proposal to improve transport between the two important port cities was keenly supported by the Admiralty, especially since this was the time of the Napoleonic Wars. [2] Consequently, when the Northam Bridge Company sought an Act of Parliament to build a bridge, the Act was passed quickly. [2]

The 1799 Northam Bridge Original Northam Bridge.jpg
The 1799 Northam Bridge

The new roads and bridges were built in 1799, and were originally operated as toll roads. The first Northam Bridge was of wooden construction. [2]

The Northam Bridge Company spent 1834 and 1885 putting much effort into opposing first the construction of a swing bridge further down the Itchen and then construction of the Woolston Floating Bridge. [3] In the case of the former they were successful; in the latter they were not. [3] The Northam Bridge company responded to the opening of the Woolston Floating Bridge by reducing their tolls by three quarters. [4]

The wooden Northam Bridge was replaced in 1889 by an iron bridge [5] at a cost of £9,000. [6]

The bridge remained a toll bridge until 1929 [5] when the ownership was transferred from the private sector to the Southampton Corporation. [7] The bridge cost the council £79,238 after arbitration. [8] It was this change of ownership that allowed the first bus route across the River Itchen to be established in Southampton; Southampton Corporation decided against extending the existing tram lines across the bridge, opting instead to establish a double-decker bus service. [7] On 18 March 1941 the bridge was damaged during an air raid. [9]

The modern bridge from the eastern (Bitterne Manor) bank Northam Bridge (cropped).jpg
The modern bridge from the eastern (Bitterne Manor) bank

The iron bridge was replaced in 1954 with a third bridge, made of prestressed concrete, and it is this bridge that still stands today. [1] [5] The third Northam Bridge was the first major prestressed concrete road bridge to be built in the UK [1] and cost £600,000. However this figure included the compulsory purchase of land and about 2,000 feet (610 m) of embankment construction as well as the bridge construction itself. [6]

In January 2015 the bridge was partially closed to allow waterproofing work to be carried out at a cost of £1.2m as part of a national £317m programme of works dubbed the "pinch-point programme". [10]

Construction and dimensions

The parapets of the first (wooden) bridge were 24 feet (7.3 m) apart, as were those of its wrought-iron successor. [6]

The third bridge utilised the latest technology available at the time but the style of the bridge was of the pre-war era. [11] The main deck structure has transverse diaphragms and narrowly spaced beams, which were pre-cast on site using deflected cables. [11] Pre-cast, pre-stressed slabs, known as junction slabs or continuity slabs, were placed between the tops of the beams by transverse stressing over a length where the flanges of the tees were removed. [11] These, together with in situ diaphragms between the ends of the beams, allowed the deck structure to be made continuous for live and superimposed loads. [11] After the junction slabs were in place, the main beams were post-tensioned through the diaphragms. [11]

The cement used to make the concrete in the bridge was Ordinary Portland Cement, which was both cheaper and resulted in less shrinkage than using rapid-hardening cement. It was used in a ratio of 1:11⁄2:3 – a mix which used more cement than German and British practice at the time – and a water-to-cement ratio of 0.3. [6]

The consulting engineers responsible for the new bridge were Rendel Palmer & Tritton, the same firm used for Waterloo Bridge in London nine years earlier. [6]

At mid-span, the bridge is 44 feet 4 inches (13.51 m) wide, [11] 4.7 metres above mean high water springs and 9.2 metres above chart datum. [12] The bridge is 148 metres long in total, and the supporting piers are up to 32 metres apart. [13]

Local Legend

The bridge is reportedly haunted by the ghost of a soaking wet young girl. In a local variation of the classic vanishing hitchhiker urban legend the girl is picked up by police but vanishes from their car before they arrive at the address she has given. Later inquiries at the address reveal she has been dead for several months. [14]

Related Research Articles

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

The River Itchen in Hampshire, England, rises to the south of New Alresford and flows 26 miles (42 km) to meet Southampton Water below the Itchen Bridge. The Itchen Navigation was constructed in the late 17th and early 18th centuries to enable barges to reach Winchester from Southampton Docks, but ceased to operate in the mid-19th century and is largely abandoned today.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southampton Itchen (UK Parliament constituency)</span>

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

Hedge End is a town and civil parish in Hampshire, England. Situated to the east of the City of Southampton, it adjoins the districts of West End and Botley. Hedge End lies within the Borough of Eastleigh and is part of the Southampton Urban Area. The original hamlet developed on Botley Common after 1250 when it was granted to the men of Botley as common pasture. In 1267, royal charters allowed Botley to hold an annual fair and a weekly market on the common which eventually became a market town.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Coastway line</span> Railway line in England

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Itchen Way</span> Long-distance footpath in Hampshire, England

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bitterne</span> Suburb in England

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northam, Southampton</span> Human settlement in England

Northam is a suburb of Southampton in Hampshire. On the West bank of the River Itchen, it shares borders with St Mary's, Bitterne and Bevois Valley. Beside the border with St Mary's is the Chapel area, which has been home to some recent apartment building developments in Northam. The A3024 road runs through the suburb and crosses the Northam Bridge, which links Northam with Bitterne via Bitterne Manor. Although St Mary's Stadium takes its name from the neighbouring St Mary's, the stadium itself is in Northam, and home to Southampton F.C.

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

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Itchen Bridge</span> Bridge in Southampton

The Itchen Bridge is a bridge over the River Itchen in Southampton, Hampshire. It is a high-level hollow box girder bridge. It is located about a mile from the river mouth. The bridge spans 870 yards (800 m), is 92 feet (28 m) at its highest point and weighs 62,000 tons. The bridge connects the A3025 Portsmouth Road to Southampton. It was built to replace the former chain ferry, known as the Floating Bridge, that crossed the river at that point. The bridge's set of blue energy-saving lights can be seen from up to 5 miles (8.0 km) down Southampton Water from the bridge.

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

Sholing, previously Scholing, is a district on the eastern side of the city of Southampton in Southern England. It is located between the districts of Bitterne, Thornhill and Woolston.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woolston, Southampton</span> Human settlement in England

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

Mansbridge is a suburb on the northern perimeter of Southampton, England. The area is named after the Mans Bridge which spans the River Itchen. For a considerable time, this was the southernmost crossing point of the river, before the construction of Woodmill in Swaythling. The bridge itself still stands and is a Grade II listed structure but is closed to road traffic, having been replaced by a larger and more modern road bridge to carry the A27.

Southampton is a city in Hampshire, England. The area has been settled since the Stone Age. Its history has been affected by its geographical location, on a major estuary on the English Channel coast with an unusual double high-tide, and by its proximity to Winchester and London; the ancient and modern capitals of England. Having been an important regional centre for centuries, Southampton was awarded city status by Queen Elizabeth II in 1964 .

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cobden Bridge</span> Bridge in Bitterne Park, St Denys

Cobden Bridge is a major road bridge in Southampton, UK. It crosses the River Itchen joining the suburbs of St Denys and Bitterne Park. It forms part of the A3035. The present bridge dates from 1928, but there has been a bridge on this site since 1883.

The Southampton–Fareham line is a railway line in England, along the south coast of Hampshire. As a through line it came late in British Railway history, traversing unpromising coastal terrain. The first part from Portswood, near Southampton, to Netley was opened in 1866, prompted by the establishment of the Royal Victoria Hospital at Netley, which had been established for the care of wounded soldiers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Port of Southampton</span> Passenger and cargo port in Southampton, England

The Port of Southampton is a passenger and cargo port in the central part of the south coast of England. The modern era in the history of the Port of Southampton began when the first dock was inaugurated in 1843. The port has been owned and operated by Associated British Ports since 1982, and is the busiest cruise terminal and second largest container port in the UK. The volume of port traffic categorises Southampton as a Medium-Port City globally.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woolston Floating Bridge</span>

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

Peartree Green is an open space on high ground on the east bank of the River Itchen in Southampton. A 16/17th century building, Peartree House, still stands, though is today concealed by private housing. The house and the green take their name from a pear tree that grew near the parish church. Some of the original open space has been built on, but a large proportion remains as a recreational area. It contains a church and the remains of a boarding school. It overlooks the River Itchen to St Mary's Church in Southampton.

History of Woolston, suburb of Southampton, Hampshire.

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Southampton, Hampshire, England.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "History of Concrete Bridges". cbdg.org.uk. Archived from the original on 14 December 2013. Retrieved 11 October 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Holt, John; Anne Cole (February 1992). A bend in the River. Southampton: Bitterne Local History Society.
  3. 1 2 Patterson, A. Temple (1966). A History of Southampton 1700–1914 Vol.I An Oligarchy in Decline 1700–1835. The University of Southampton. pp. 169–171.
  4. ↑ Brian, Adams (1977). The missing link : The story of the Itchen Bridge. Southampton City Council. p. 17.
  5. 1 2 3 "Northam Bridge Approach – PortCities Southampton". plimsoll.org. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 11 March 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Adams, H.C.; C W Pike; D H Lee; F I Childs; G O Kee; A Goldstein; J R Lowe; A D Holland; Wooldridge; J Cuerel; HAUCH (1 May 1955). "Discussion. New Northam Bridge, Southampton" (PDF). Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers. 4 (3): 290–298. doi:10.1680/iicep.1955.11382 . Retrieved 14 May 2012.
  7. 1 2 Gould, Peter. "Southampton Corporation Transport: 1898-1986". Peter Gould. Retrieved 11 March 2008.
  8. ↑ Brian, Adams (1977). The missing link : The story of the Itchen Bridge. Southampton City Council. p. 31.
  9. ↑ Rance, Adrian (1986). Southampton An Illustrated History. Milestone Publications. p. 168. ISBN   0903852950.
  10. ↑ "Southampton travel delays as Northam Bridge repairs begin". BBC News. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Sutherland, R. J. M.; Dawn Humm; Mike Chrimes (2001). Historic Concrete. Thomas Telford. ISBN   0-7277-2875-X.
  12. ↑ "Southampton Port Users Information & Navigation Guidelines" (PDF). Associated British Ports. Retrieved 29 August 2008.
  13. ↑ Hewson, Nigel R. (2003). Prestressed Concrete Bridges: Design and Construction. Thomas Telford. ISBN   0-7277-3223-4.
  14. ↑ Legg, Penny (2011). Haunted Southampton. The History Press. ISBN   9780752455198.
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