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Silver Jubilee Bridge

Silver Jubilee Bridge
Runcorn Bridge, geograph.jpg
Silver Jubilee Bridge
Coordinates 53°20′48″N 2°44′16″W / 53.3466°N 2.7377°W / 53.3466; -2.7377
Carries Road traffic and pedestrians
Crosses River Mersey
Manchester Ship Canal
Locale Runcorn Gap between Runcorn and Widnes
Other name(s) Runcorn Bridge, Runcorn-Widnes Bridge
Maintained by Halton Borough Council
Characteristics
Design Through arch bridge
Material Steel
Total length 527 yards (482 m)
Width 18 yards (16 m)
Height 285 feet (87 m)
Longest span 361 yards (330 m)
No. of spans 1
Clearance below 80 feet (24 m) over the Manchester Ship Canal
History
Designer Mott, Hay and Anderson
Construction begin 25 April 1956
Opened 21 July 1961
Statistics
Daily traffic Over 80,000
Toll Not currently

Coordinates: 53°20′48″N 2°44′16″W / 53.3466°N 2.7377°W / 53.3466; -2.7377

The Silver Jubilee Bridge or Runcorn 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 (330 m). It was opened in 1961 as a replacement for the Widnes-Runcorn Transporter Bridge, and was initially known simply as the Runcorn Bridge or Runcorn–Widnes Bridge. In 1975–77 it was widened, after which it 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.

Until 1868, when Runcorn Railway Bridge was opened, the only means of crossing the Mersey at or near Runcorn Gap were by fording or by ferry. Before that the lowest crossing of the river had been the road bridge at Warrington. The first bridge to carry vehicular traffic across Runcorn Gap was the Widnes-Runcorn Transporter Bridge which opened in 1905. This was an inefficient means of transport and it had become inadequate for the amount of traffic using it before the outbreak of the Second World War. In 1946 the Ministry of Transport agreed that the transporter bridge should be replaced when sufficient funds were available. Mott, Hay and Anderson were appointed as consultant engineers.


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