Transporter bridge

Template:Side box 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.

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.

The first transporter bridge, Vizcaya Bridge was built between Las Arenas and Portugalete, Spain, in 1893. The design from Alberto Palacio 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.

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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. The Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge opened in 1911 crossing the River Tees. 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. 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

Bridge	Image	City	Country	Completed	Span	Clearance	Height	In Use?	Coordinates	Notes
Vizcaya Bridge	File:Zubia jun.jpg	Portugalete/Getxo	Spain	1893				Yes		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 Bridge	File:Charente Maritime Rochefort pont transbordeur sud.jpg	Rochefort, Charente-Maritime	France	1900				Yes		In use during the summer. This bridge may be seen in the film The Young Girls of Rochefort.
Aerial Lift Bridge	File:Aerial lift bridge duluth mn.jpg	Duluth, Minnesota	United States	1905				No		No longer a transporter bridge; converted into a lift bridge in 1929, in use.
Newport Transporter Bridge	File:Transporter Bridge, from Coronation Park.jpg	Newport	United Kingdom	1906				No The bridge is closed for restoration work and the construction of the new visitor centre.		Currently [2023] closed again for repairs and construction of the new visitor centre with a planned Summer 2024 reopening.Template:Update inline Appears in the film Tiger Bay.
Osten Transporter Bridge	File:Osten.jpg	Osten	Germany	1909				Yes		In use, but only as a tourist attraction.
Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge	File:Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge, stockton side.jpg	Middlesbrough	United Kingdom	1911				No. The bridge has been closed due to safety concerns. Refurbishment works are currently being developed with the aim to reopen the structure in 2032		The bridges future is currently in discussion with Mayor Sir Ben Houchen due to the £60M GBP it is estimated to cost for full repairs of the bridge to be put back into operation, residents have mixed opinions on this and there is currently a public consultation into whether it should get knocked down and replaced or repaired due to its significant history and pride in the local area of the Teesside.
Rendsburg High Bridge	File:Rendsburgerhochbruecke.jpg	Rendsburg	Germany	1913				Yes		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 Avellaneda	File:Buenos Aires Most Transportowy 2.jpg	Buenos Aires/Dock Sud	Argentina	1914	103.6 m (340 ft)			Yes		In use. It was closed in 1960 but was restored and reopened in September 2017.
Warrington Transporter Bridge	File:Wartranny.jpg	Warrington	United Kingdom	1916				No		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 Avellaneda	File:The new Nicolas Avellaneda Transporter Bridge, La Boca.jpg	Buenos Aires/Dock Sud	Argentina	1940	60 m (197 ft)	(not lifted), (lifted)		Yes		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 Bridge	File:Royal Victoria Dock Bridge.jpg	London	United Kingdom	1998				No		Designed to allow use as a transporter bridge but currently only in use as a high-level footbridge.
Template:Ill	File:Brücke über die Niers.jpg	Near Mönchengladbach	Germany	2003				Yes		Small human-powered transporter bridge.

Historic bridges

Bridge	Image	Location	Country	Completed	Span	Notes
Messrs. Crosfield’s Transporter Bridge		Warrington	United Kingdom	1905	76 m	demolished
Bizerta/Brest Transporter Bridge	File:Romance of Modern Mechanism 23.png	Bizerta	Tunisia	1898	109 m	Moved to Brest, France in 1909, damaged 1944, demolished 1947.
Bordeaux Transporter Bridge	File:Vue du port de la Lune.jpg	Bordeaux	France	—	400 m (total)	Started 1910, but never completed. Demolished, 1942.
Devil's Dyke Transporter Bridge		Devil's Dyke	United Kingdom	1894	198 m	Demolished, 1909.
Kiel Transporter Bridge	File:Schwebefähre der Kaiserlichen Werft.jpg	Kiel	German Empire	1910	128 m	Demolished, 1923.
Maarsserbrug	File:Maarsserbrug met transbordeur.jpg	Maarssen	The Netherlands	1938	88 m	Fixed bridge for regular traffic with transporter for agricultural usages, removed in 1959.
Marseille Transporter Bridge	File:Pont Transbordeur-01.jpg	Marseille	France	1905	165 m	Destroyed, 1944.
Nantes Transporter Bridge	File:Nantes-pont-transbordeur-CP165LL.jpg	Nantes	France	1903	141 m	Demolished, 1958.
Puente Transbordador Presidente Sáenz Peña	File:Puente Transbordador Sáenz Peña.jpg	Buenos Aires	Argentina	1913		Demolished, 1965.
Puente Transbordador Presidente Urquiza	File:Transbordador Urquiza (MCBA, 1944).jpg	Buenos Aires	Argentina	1915		Demolished, 1968.
Ponte Alexandrino de Alencar		Rio de Janeiro	Brazil	1915	171 m	Demolished, 1935.
Rouen Transporter Bridge	File:Pont transbordeur de Rouen 2.jpg	Rouen	France	1898	142 m	Destroyed, 1940.
Sky Ride	File:Aerial View Of Sky Ride And Panorama Of " A Century Of Progress." (NBY 416916).jpg	Chicago, Illinois	United States	1933	564 m	Demolished, 1934.
Knoxville Transporter Bridge		Knoxville, Tennessee	United States	1894		Demolished.
Widnes-Runcorn Transporter Bridge	File:Runcorn transporter bridge (Wonder Book of Engineering Wonders, 1931).jpg	Widnes-Runcorn	United Kingdom	1905	304 m	Demolished, 1961.

See also

• Movable bridges for a list of other movable bridge types

Related Articles

• Southwest Line

External links

• The Friends of Newport Transporter Bridge
• BBC Article on the Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge
• Warrington Transporter Bridge
• BBC article on the Bridges of the River Tees
• Structurae: Transporter bridges
• The World of Transporter bridges Template:In lang
• Rochefort Transporter Bridge official website
• Flying Bridges: A Short History of Transporter Bridges
• Transporter Bridges on historic postcards
• Transporter Bridges on Skyscraperpage.com