Transporter bridge
An animation showing how a transporter bridge operates with vehicular, pedestrian and shipping traffic
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| 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 Newport Transporter Bridge can carry 6 cars and 120 passengers
The Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge; the gondola can carry 200 people, 9 cars or 6 cars and one minibus.
The Royal Victoria Dock Bridge in London, constructed for a transporter system to be added in the future.
The Vizcaya Bridge in Portugalete is a World Heritage Site
Puente Transbordador Nicolás Avellaneda in Buenos Aires
The concept of the transporter bridge was invented in 1873 by Charles Smith (1844-82) 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.
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