| The first bridges were built by the Romans. Pons Elii in Newcastle, the Stone Bridge at Corbridge and a bridge close to Chesters Fort near Chollerford. There are 22 main bridges that span the River Tyne, the newest of which is the Gateshead Millennium Bridge . |
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| This is an engraving by T Lupton of a drawing by Turner entitled "Newcastle on the River Tyne" , dated 1823 . The Georgian Bridge , now the site of the Swing Bridge , can be seen in the distance . Courtesy of the Tate Gallery . |
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Newcastle Medevial Bridge |
Old Tyne Bridges from Pipewellgate ,
Gateshead |
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Georgian Tyne Bridge , site of the present
Swing Bridge |
High Level Bridge - 1866 - Designed by George
Stephenson's son, Robert , this bridge was opened to traffic in August 1849.
Queen Victoria crossed it a month later, 28th September 1849. The bridge has a
two-deck structure , upper for Rail and the lower for a Roadway. The bridge is
made up of six spans of 125-ft. |
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Redheugh Bridge in 1895 and early steam paddle
Tug "William & Mary " with Wherry " George Hope" on the right . The bridge
was built in 1870 and designed by Thomas Bouch . |
Scotswood Bridge 1910 |
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Swing Bridge 1910 - This bridge was built by
William Armstrong and completed and opened for road traffic without any
ceremony on the 15th June 1876. The swinging portion was first used on the 17th
July 1876 when the "Europa" of the Italian Navy, passed up to the Elswick
Ordnance Works to take on board a gun weighing 100 tons for the Italian
Government. The cost of the bridge was £240,432 1s 7d. |
Swing & High Level Bridges |
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| Construction of the King Edward Bridge in 1905 | King Edward Bridge - 1953 . This bridge takes the main East coast railway line from London to Scotland . | |
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Although not a bridge ,the idea of these tunnels was to bring together North and South Tyneside with a pedestrian and cycle tunnel to run under the river. It connects the communities of Jarrow and Howdon and is 900ft long. Work on the tunnel was about to start in 1939 but the Second World War put a stop to it and work finally began in 1947. Whilst digging the tunnel they had to deal with the old Jarrow and Howdon Colliery mine workings which crossed their path. The entrance of the north tunnel is now built on top of the house that Robert Stephenson was born in. Courtesy and copyright of BBC Newcastle . | |
| Pedestrian Tunnel | ||
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Tyne Bridge Construction 1928 |
Tyne Bridge Construction 1928 |
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Tyne Bridge Construction 1928 |
Tyne Bridge Construction 1928 |
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Tyne Bridge Construction 1928 |
Tyne Bridge opening - 1928 , HM King George V
accompanied by H.M Queen Mary on 10th October 1928 opened the Tyne Bridge.
Mott, Hay and Anderson designed the bridge and the contractors were Dorman Long
& Co., Ltd of Middlesborough. The main span is 531ft, it has a clear
headway over the river of 84ft, 2ft higher than the High Level Bridge. The Tyne
Bridge cost £700,000 to build but recently it has just finished a
makeover costing £1.8 million. The granite-faced towers were intended to
be used as warehouses consisting of 5 floors but the floors were never
completed. |
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Tyne Bridge - 1985 |
High Level , Swing & Tyne Bridges -
1995 |
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The £22 million bridge was designed by Wilkinson Eyre Architects and Engineers Gifford and Partners. Work first started on the bridge in May 1999. The Gateshead Millenium Bridge is the first opening bridge to be built across the River Tyne for more than 100 years. It has become a link between Newcastle and Gateshead just west of the Baltic Flour Mill. It was opened Officially on 7 and 8 May 2002 . Courtesy and copyright of BBC Newcastle . | |
| Millenium Bridge |