The Anonymous Widower

The Bridges of Newcastle

If Newcastle has one unique feature that distinguishes it from all other cities in the UK, it is the bridges across the Tyne.

The bridges in order as you go from the mouth of the Tyne upstream or from east to west are as follows.

• The Gateshead Millennium Bridge or the Blinking Eye Bridge was opened in 2001 and is a foot and cycle bridge by the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art.  The bridge opens every day and some of the pictures show this.
• The Tyne Bridge was opened in 1928 and is a classic through arch bridge like the larger and much wider Sydney Harbour Bridge, which was opened four years later.  Both bridges were built by Dorman Long in Middlesborough.
• The Swing Bridge was built by Armstrong to allow large warships access to his works on the Tyne.
• The High Level Bridge was designed by Robert Stephenson to allow both road and rail traffic to cross the river. It opened in 1849.
• The Queen Elizabeth II Metro Bridge is a modern bridge opened in 1981 that carries the Tyne and Wear Metro over the river.
• The King Edward VII Bridge, opened in 1906, carries the main East Coast Main Line.
• The Redheugh Bridge carries the A189 over the river.  It was opened in 1983.

A lot of these bridges have been designed to allow large ships up the Tyne.  Now though, the Gateshead Millennium Bridge has effectively stopped this.

Purists will say why have I called this the Bridges of Newcastle rather than the Tyne Bridges, especially as Newcastle is only on one bank of the River.  But most people will know of Newcastle and many will not know the name of the river.

April 25, 2010 - Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Bridges, Engineering, Newcastle