When was transporter bridge built

Heritage » English » Transporter Bridge. Cymraeg English. Transporter Bridge. Transporter Bridge Please note that the site will remain closed until Spring as we undergo restoration and the construction of a new visitor centre The remarkable Newport Transporter Bridge is one of only six operational transporter bridges left world wide from a total of twenty constructed. The bridge opened in and has dominated the Newport skyline since. Watch video The future of the Transporter Bridge Our Just Giving page to raise funds to help carry out repairs to the bridge gondola and ongoing costs of general repairs and maintenance of the year old bridge has now closed.

The risks of coronavirus remain high. To keep everyone safe, please stay cautious. Get the latest information about coronavirus. Pedestrians and bicycles 70p Cars, motorcycles, vans max. For prices and how to book, please see the 'Visitor Experience' section below. Visitor Experience Due to essential maintenance taking place at the Tees Transporter Bridge, the Visitor Experience has temporarily been suspended.

We apologise for any inconvenience caused. Monday 7. View a panorama of the bridge. Latest News. Signalling updates to halt rail services No trains will run to and from Middlesbrough between Saturday 13 and Monday 15 November due to major upgrades.

Knitters create striking floral display for remembrance A striking display of hand-crafted poppies watched over by a solitary Tommy are a powerful symbol of Remembrance in Nunthorpe. Mike lays on a green-fingered makeover for Kids Kabin A Middlesbrough kids' club has been given a green-fingered makeover by a gardening wizard. While it was stuck, gale force winds lashed water to within inches of it.

However, despite this the gondola and The Transporter Bridge are still running in perfect order. In , the comedy actor Terry Scott, travelling between his hotel in Middlesbrough and a performance at the Billingham Forum, mistook the bridge for a regular toll crossing and drove his car off the end of the roadway, landing in the safety netting beneath.

In December , the bridge was awarded the Institution of Mechanical Engineers' highest honour, The Heritage Plaque, for engineering excellence, in recognition of the Council's efforts in keeping the bridge in good working order.

In the millennium celebrations of , fireworks were fired from its length. The storyline of the third series of Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, saw the bridge dismantled to be sold to and re-erected in the USA.

The local council received calls from people worried that the bridge was really being pulled down, with the BBC adding a disclaimer on the end of the final episode of the series stating that 'The Transporter Bridge remains in Middlesbrough'. The Tees Transporter Bridge has an overall length including cantilevers of , leaving a span between the centres of the towers of , the beam of the bridge being carried at a height of above the road. The bridge is the longest remaining transporter bridge in the world.

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 by Charles Smith , 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. The design from Alberto Palacio 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.