Material | Steel |
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Movable | Yes |
A transporter bridge, also known as a ferry bridge or aerial transfer bridge, is a type of movable bridge that carries a segment of roadway across a river. The gondola is slung from a tall span by wires or a metal frame. The design has been used to cross navigable rivers or other bodies of water, where there is a requirement for ship traffic to be able to pass. This has been a rare type of bridge, with fewer than two dozen built. There are just twelve that continue to be used today, including one converted into a lift bridge and one designed as, but not yet operating as, a transporter bridge.
The concept of the transporter bridge was invented in 1873 by Charles Smith (1844–1882), the manager of an engine works in Hartlepool, England. He called it a "bridge ferry" and unsuccessfully presented his ideas to councils in Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, and Glasgow. [1]
The first transporter bridge, Vizcaya Bridge was built between Las Arenas and Portugalete, Spain, in 1893. The design from Alberto Palacio [2] inspired others to attempt similar structures. The idea came about in locations where it was seen as impractical to build long approach ramps that would be required to reach a high span, and in places where ferries are not easily able to cross. Because transporter bridges can carry only a limited load, the idea was little used after the rise of the automobile.
The first such bridge built in France, the 1898 Rouen bridge crossing the Seine, was destroyed by the French Army to slow down German troops in World War II. Transporter bridges were popular in France, where five were erected and another partially completed.
The United Kingdom has four transporter bridges, though Warrington Transporter Bridge is disused and the modern Royal Victoria Dock Bridge, though designed with the potential to be used as a transporter bridge, has so far only been used as a high-level footbridge. The Newport Transporter Bridge was built in 1906 across the River Usk in Newport. Because the river banks are very low at the crossing point (a few miles south of the city centre) a traditional bridge would need a very long approach ramp and a ferry could not be used at low tide. The Newport Bridge was a Ferdinand Arnodin design. [3] The Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge opened in 1911 crossing the River Tees. [1] It was featured in the 2002 series of the popular British TV show Auf Wiedersehen, Pet ; the programme's plot had the bridge being dismantled and re-erected in Arizona, US. [4] The Widnes-Runcorn Transporter Bridge, demolished in the early 1960s, was the first of its type in Britain, and the largest ever built.
In the United States, two such bridges were built. The first was the Aerial Bridge built in Duluth, Minnesota in 1905, although the city had originally planned to build a vertical lift bridge at the site. The transporter design was used for about 25 years before the structure was reconfigured to lift a central span in 1930.
The second American transporter bridge was different from other designs and partially resembled gondola lifts used in mountainous regions. The Sky Ride was part of the 1933–34 Chicago World's Fair ("Century of Progress"). It was taken down after two years, and was the longest bridge of this type ever built at the time.
Two historic transporter bridges survive in Germany. The bridge at Rendsburg, from 1913 is two bridges in one: a railroad link crosses on the top span, and the suspended ferry carries traffic on the valley floor. The Osten Transporter Bridge at Osten is four years older and was the first transporter bridge in Germany.
Bridge | Image | City | Country | Completed | Span | Clearance | Height | In Use? | Coordinates | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Vizcaya Bridge | Portugalete/Getxo | Spain | 1893 | 164 m (538 ft) | 45 m (148 ft) | 61.3 m (201 ft) | Yes | 43°19′23″N3°1′1″W / 43.32306°N 3.01694°W | In use 24/7, passenger fare 0.45 euro in 2022 (1.60 at night), fares between 1.65 and 3.50 for vehicles. It was declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco in 2006. It has become a prototype for subsequent bridges. | |
Rochefort-Martrou Transporter Bridge | Rochefort, Charente-Maritime | France | 1900 | 140 m (460 ft) | 50 m (160 ft) | 66.5 m (218 ft) | Yes | 45°54′58″N0°57′38″W / 45.91611°N 0.96056°W | In use during the summer. This bridge may be seen in the film The Young Girls of Rochefort . | |
Aerial Lift Bridge | Duluth, Minnesota | United States | 1905 | 120 m (390 ft) | 41.1 m (135 ft) | 69.5 m (228 ft) | No | 46°46′44″N92°5′34″W / 46.77889°N 92.09278°W | No longer a transporter bridge; converted into a lift bridge in 1929, in use. | |
Newport Transporter Bridge | Newport | United Kingdom | 1906 | 196.6 m (645 ft) | 50 m (160 ft) | 73.6 m (241 ft) | No The bridge is closed for restoration work and the construction of the new visitor centre. | 51°34′14″N2°59′8″W / 51.57056°N 2.98556°W | Currently [2023] closed again for repairs and construction of the new visitor centre with a planned Summer 2024 reopening. [5] Appears in the film Tiger Bay . [6] | |
Osten Transporter Bridge | Osten | Germany | 1909 | 80 m (260 ft) | 30 m (98 ft) | 38 m (125 ft) | Yes | 53°41′39″N9°10′58″E / 53.69417°N 9.18278°E | In use, but only as a tourist attraction. | |
Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge | Middlesbrough | United Kingdom | 1911 | 180 m (590 ft) | 49 m (161 ft) | 68 m (223 ft) | No. The bridge has been closed for essential repairs and maintenance. [7] | 54°35′4″N1°13′40″W / 54.58444°N 1.22778°W | Refitted motors in 2010. Still in use, not in high winds | |
Rendsburg High Bridge | Rendsburg | Germany | 1913 | 140 m (460 ft) | 42 m (138 ft) | 68 m (223 ft) | Yes | 54°17′37″N9°40′56″E / 54.29361°N 9.68222°E | Only known combo railroad/transporter bridge. Gondola was destroyed in a collision with a ship in 2016, but has been replaced by an exact replica in 2022. | |
Puente Transbordador Nicolás Avellaneda | Buenos Aires/Dock Sud | Argentina | 1914 | 103.6 m (340 ft) | 43.5 m (143 ft) | 52 m (171 ft) | Yes | 34°38′18″S58°21′22″W / 34.63833°S 58.35611°W | In use. It was closed in 1960 but was restored and reopened in September 2017. | |
Warrington Transporter Bridge | Warrington | United Kingdom | 1916 | 57 m (187 ft) | 23 m (75 ft) | 27 m (89 ft) | No | 53°23′1″N2°36′27″W / 53.38361°N 2.60750°W | Disused. Originally for rail wagons. Converted for road vehicles in 1940. Listed as an "ancient monument", but still at risk. (One of two originally at this site; the other, from 1905 did not survive.) | |
Puente Nicolás Avellaneda | Buenos Aires/Dock Sud | Argentina | 1940 | 60 m (197 ft) | 21 m (69 ft) (not lifted), 43 m (141 ft) (lifted) | 57 m (187 ft) | Yes | 34°38′17″S58°21′21″W / 34.63806°S 58.35583°W | Transporter bridge below a liftable section of a vertical lift bridge. Since 1960 only used, when the road on the bridge is closed for maintenance work. | |
Royal Victoria Dock Bridge | London | United Kingdom | 1998 | 128 m (420 ft) | 15 m (49 ft) | 45 m (148 ft) | No | 43°19′23″N3°1′1″W / 43.32306°N 3.01694°W | Designed to allow use as a transporter bridge but currently only in use as a high-level footbridge. | |
Erlebnisbrücke | Near Mönchengladbach | Germany | 2003 | 10 m (33 ft) | Yes | 51°14′17.1″N6°28′28.52″E / 51.238083°N 6.4745889°E | Small human-powered transporter bridge. [8] | |||
Hamrštejn Footbridge | Liberec and Chrastava, over Lusatian Neisse | Czechia | 2010 | 23 m (75 ft) | Yes | 50°47′16.5″N14°58′13″E / 50.787917°N 14.97028°E | Small human-powered transporter bridge. |
The River Tees, in England, rises on the eastern slope of Cross Fell in the North Pennines and flows eastwards for 85 miles (137 km) to reach the North Sea in the North East of England. The modern-day history of the river has been tied with the industries on Teesside in its lower reaches, where it has provided the means of import and export of goods to and from the North East England. The need for water further downstream also meant that reservoirs were built in the extreme upper reaches, such as Cow Green.
Middlesbrough is a port town in North Yorkshire, England. The town's built-up area, an area spanning from the south bank of the River Tees, up to and including Coulby Newham and Nunthorpe, had a population of 148,215 at the 2021 UK Census. The town's borough is governed by Middlesbrough Council. It is the postal town further south to the North York Moors National Park. The largest town of Teesside and the largest of the Tees Valley region, it is the direct regional centre for a population of 678,400 in 2021 and de facto centre for northern Yorkshire and southern County Durham.
The Tees Transporter Bridge, also referred to as the Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge or locally as The Transporter, is a bridge over the River Tees in northern England. The northern side is in Port Clarence (Stockton-on-Tees) and the southern side is in Middlehaven (Middlesbrough). It is grade II* listed and the longest existing transporter in the world. Its winch house and piers are grade II listed.
The Newport Transporter Bridge is a transporter bridge that crosses the River Usk in Newport, South East Wales. The bridge is the lowest crossing on the River Usk. It is a Grade I listed structure.
The Aerial Lift Bridge, earlier known as the Aerial Bridge or Aerial Ferry Bridge, is a landmark in the port city of Duluth, Minnesota. The span began life in 1905 as the United States' first transporter bridge: Only one other was ever constructed in the country, Sky Ride in Chicago. The span was converted in 1929–1930 to a vertical-lift bridge, also rather uncommon, although there are six such bridges along Ontario's Welland Canal. It remains in operation. The bridge is owned and operated by the City of Duluth. The bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 22, 1973. The United States Army Corps of Engineers maintains a nearby maritime museum.
Port Clarence is a small village in the borough of Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, England. It is on the north bank of the River Tees, and near the northern end of the Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge.
The Tees Barrage is a barrage and road bridge across the River Tees, Northern England, just upriver of Blue House Point and is used to control the flow of the river, preventing flooding and the effects of tidal change. It is between the towns of Stockton-on-Tees and Thornaby, road access is only by the latter with limited road access to the Tees's north bank.
The Widnes–Runcorn Transporter Bridge crossed the river Mersey and Manchester Ship Canal linking the towns of Runcorn and Widnes. 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, now known as the Silver Jubilee Bridge. The transporter bridge was then demolished.
The Vizcaya Bridge is a transporter bridge that links the towns of Portugalete and Las Arenas in the Biscay province of Spain, crossing the mouth of the Nervion River.
The Tees Newport Bridge is a vertical-lift bridge spanning the River Tees a short distance upriver from Tees Transporter Bridge, linking Middlesbrough with the borough of Stockton-on-Tees, Northern England. It no longer lifts, but still acts as a road bridge in its permanently down position.
Ferdinand Joseph Arnodin was a French engineer and industrialist born in Sainte-Foy-lès-Lyon, Rhône who died in Châteauneuf-sur-Loire in Loiret. Specialising in cableway transporters, he is regarded as the inventor of the transporter bridge, having been the first to patent the idea in 1887. However, the first such bridge was in fact designed by Alberto Palacio, with Arnodin's help.
The A178 is a road that runs from Hartlepool in County Durham to Middlesbrough in North Yorkshire, England.
The A19 Tees Viaduct or Tees Flyover is a high level six-lane dual carriageway road bridge in the North East of England carrying the main A19 trunk road north–south across the River Tees.
Puente Nicolás Avellaneda is a 1650-metre long liftable road bridge with 2 lanes in Buenos Aires, Argentina over Riachuelo River, which was built from 1937 to 1940. The 57 metre tall liftable section over the river has a length of 60 metres and offers a clearance of 43 metres when lifted, and a clearance of 21 metres when not lifted. This section of the bridge carries a transporter gondola and can work like the nearby Puente Transbordador as a transporter bridge. The transporter gondola was designed to allow horse-driven wagons to cross the river without using the long strenuous way over the ramps of the bridge. Puente Nicolás Avellaneda is the only liftable bridge in the world equipped with a transporter gondola. However since 1960, this gondola is only in use when the roadway on the bridge is closed for maintenance work.
The Surtees Rail Bridge is a rail bridge on the Tees Valley Line over the River Tees in the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees. The bridge is south of Stockton-on-Tees town centre and just north of the adjacent Surtees Bridge which carries the A66 road. The bridge is built on the site of a series of Tees Bridges alternating between two adjacent crossing sites.