Transporter bridge
An animation showing how a transporter bridge operates with vehicular, pedestrian and shipping traffic
An animation showing how a transporter bridge operates with vehicular, pedestrian and shipping traffic
MaterialSteel
MovableYes

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.

History

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 Widnes–Runcorn Transporter Bridge was the first in Britain and the largest transporter bridge in the world.

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.

List of transporter bridges

Existing bridges

BridgeImageCityCountryCompletedSpanClearanceHeightIn Use?CoordinatesNotes
Vizcaya BridgePortugalete/Getxo Spain1893164 m (538 ft)45 m (148 ft)61.3 m (201 ft)Yes43°19′23″N 3°1′1″W / 43.32306°N 3.01694°W / 43.32306; -3.01694 (Vizcaya Bridge)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 BridgeRochefort, Charente-Maritime France1900140 m (460 ft)50 m (160 ft)66.5 m (218 ft)Yes45°54′58″N 0°57′38″W / 45.91611°N 0.96056°W / 45.91611; -0.96056 (Rochefort-Martrou Transporter Bridge)In use during the summer. This bridge may be seen in the film The Young Girls of Rochefort.
Aerial Lift BridgeDuluth, Minnesota United States1905120 m (390 ft)41.1 m (135 ft)69.5 m (228 ft)No46°46′44″N 92°5′34″W / 46.77889°N 92.09278°W / 46.77889; -92.09278 (Aerial Lift Bridge)No longer a transporter bridge; converted into a lift bridge in 1929, in use.
Newport Transporter BridgeNewport United Kingdom1906196.6 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″N 2°59′8″W / 51.57056°N 2.98556°W / 51.57056; -2.98556 (Newport Transporter Bridge)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 BridgeOsten Germany190980 m (260 ft)30 m (98 ft)38 m (125 ft)Yes53°41′39″N 9°10′58″E / 53.69417°N 9.18278°E / 53.69417; 9.18278 (Osten Transporter Bridge)In use, but only as a tourist attraction.
Middlesbrough Transporter BridgeMiddlesbrough United Kingdom1911180 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″N 1°13′40″W / 54.58444°N 1.22778°W / 54.58444; -1.22778 (Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge)Refitted motors in 2010. Still in use, not in high winds
Rendsburg High BridgeRendsburg Germany1913140 m (460 ft)42 m (138 ft)68 m (223 ft)Yes54°17′37″N 9°40′56″E / 54.29361°N 9.68222°E / 54.29361; 9.68222 (Rendsburg High Bridge)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 AvellanedaBuenos Aires/Dock Sud Argentina1914103.6 m (340 ft)43.5 m (143 ft)52 m (171 ft)Yes34°38′18″S 58°21′22″W / 34.63833°S 58.35611°W / -34.63833; -58.35611 (Puente Transbordador)In use. It was closed in 1960 but was restored and reopened in September 2017.
Warrington Transporter BridgeWarrington United Kingdom191657 m (187 ft)23 m (75 ft)27 m (89 ft)No53°23′1″N 2°36′27″W / 53.38361°N 2.60750°W / 53.38361; -2.60750 (Warrington Transporter Bridge)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 AvellanedaBuenos Aires/Dock Sud Argentina194060 m (197 ft)21 m (69 ft) (not lifted), 43 m (141 ft) (lifted)57 m (187 ft)Yes34°38′17″S 58°21′21″W / 34.63806°S 58.35583°W / -34.63806; -58.35583 (Puente Nicolás Avellaneda)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 BridgeLondon United Kingdom1998128 m (420 ft)15 m (49 ft)45 m (148 ft)No43°19′23″N 3°1′1″W / 43.32306°N 3.01694°W / 43.32306; -3.01694 (Royal Victoria Dock Bridge)Designed to allow use as a transporter bridge but currently only in use as a high-level footbridge.
ErlebnisbrückeNear Mönchengladbach Germany200310 m (33 ft)Yes51°14′17.1″N 6°28′28.52″E / 51.238083°N 6.4745889°E / 51.238083; 6.4745889 (Erlebnisbrücke)Small human-powered transporter bridge.[8]
Hamrštejn FootbridgeLiberec and Chrastava, over Lusatian Neisse Czechia201023 m (75 ft)Yes50°47′16.5″N 14°58′13″E / 50.787917°N 14.97028°E / 50.787917; 14.97028 (Hamrštejn Bridge)Small human-powered transporter bridge.

Historic bridges

BridgeImageLocationCountryCompletedSpanNotes
Messrs. Crosfield’s Transporter Bridge 53°23′11.72″N 2°36′22.96″W / 53.3865889°N 2.6063778°W / 53.3865889; -2.6063778 (Messrs. Crosfield’s Transporter Bridge Transporter Bridge)Warrington United Kingdom190576 mdemolished
Bizerta/Brest Transporter BridgeBizerta Tunisia1898109 mMoved to Brest, France in 1909, damaged 1944, demolished 1947.
Bordeaux Transporter BridgeBordeaux France—400 m
(total)		Started 1910, but never completed. Demolished, 1942.
Devil's Dyke Transporter BridgeDevil's Dyke United Kingdom1894198 mDemolished, 1909.[9][10][11]
Kiel Transporter BridgeKiel German Empire1910128 mDemolished, 1923.[12]
Maarsserbrug
Maarssen The Netherlands193888 mFixed bridge for regular traffic with transporter for agricultural usages, removed in 1959.
Marseille Transporter BridgeMarseille France1905165 mDestroyed, 1944.[13]
Nantes Transporter BridgeNantes France1903141 mDemolished, 1958.[14]
Puente Transbordador Presidente Sáenz PeñaBuenos Aires Argentina1913Demolished, 1965.
Puente Transbordador Presidente UrquizaBuenos Aires Argentina1915Demolished, 1968.
Ponte Alexandrino de AlencarRio de Janeiro Brazil1915171 mDemolished, 1935.[15]
Rouen Transporter BridgeRouen France1898142 mDestroyed, 1940.
Sky RideChicago, Illinois United States1933564 mDemolished, 1934.
Knoxville Transporter BridgeKnoxville, Tennessee United Statesdemolished
Widnes-Runcorn Transporter Bridge 53°20′47.76″N 2°44′10.68″W / 53.3466000°N 2.7363000°W / 53.3466000; -2.7363000 (Widnes-Runcorn Transporter Bridge)Widnes-Runcorn United Kingdom1905304 mDemolished, 1961.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Lloyd, Chris (12 October 2011). "Transporter Bridge left boats in its wake". www.thenorthernecho.co.uk. The Northern Echo. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
  2. ↑ El Gran Puente Colgante De Bizkaia
  3. ↑ Newport Transporter Bridge
  4. ↑ "Bridge not under threat, pet". BBC News. news.bbc.co.uk. 13 May 2002. Retrieved 20 January 2009.
  5. ↑ "Transporter Bridge".
  6. ↑ "Friends of Newport Transporter Bridge".
  7. ↑ "Tees Transporter Bridge". www.middlesbrough.gov.uk. 2016-05-19. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  8. ↑ "Erlebnisbrücke (Mönchengladbach, 2003)". Structurae. Retrieved 2019-12-27.
  9. ↑ Tyrrell, Henry (1912), Transporter Bridges, Toronto: University of Toronto Engineering Society, p. 5
  10. ↑ Waddell, John (1916), Bridge Engineering, vol. I, New York: Wiley, p. 671
  11. ↑ "Cableway for passenger traffic at Brighton, England". Engineering News-Record. 33 (5): 67–8. 31 January 1895. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
  12. ↑ 54°19′19″N 10°09′43″E / 54.321944°N 10.161944°E
  13. ↑ 43°17′39″N 5°21′49″E / 43.294184°N 5.363646°E
  14. ↑ 47°12′31″N 1°33′57″W / 47.208516°N 1.565756°W
  15. ↑ 22°53′46″S 43°10′35″W / 22.896171°S 43.176345°W
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