Hawarden Bridge

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Coordinates: 53°13′02″N 3°02′00″W / 53.2172°N 3.0332°W / 53.2172; -3.0332
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Hawarden Bridge
River Dee
LocaleDeeside
Official nameHawarden Bridge
Maintained byNetwork Rail
Characteristics
DesignSwing bridge
Longest span85 m (278 ft)
No. of spans3
History
DesignerMr C A Hobson
Construction start16 August 1887
Opened3 August 1889
Location
Map
A 1906 Railway Clearing House map showing the bridge's location

Hawarden Bridge (

Chester & Connah's Quay Railway
. It opened on 3 August 1889.

Hawarden Bridge is part of the

Borderlands Line from Wrexham to Bidston. Hawarden Bridge railway station is on the north side of the bridge, while Shotton station is on the south side. National Cycle Route 5
crosses the River Dee on the path, adjacent to the railway line, which is on the bridge.

Upon opening, Hawarden Bridge became the largest swing bridge anywhere in the United Kingdom.[1] It also held the high temperature record for Wales – 35.2°C, which was recorded on 2 August 1990,[2] until it was exceeded in Gogerddan on 17 July 2022.[3] However, it regained its high temperature record for Wales the very next day, when a temperature of 37.1°C was recorded at nearby Hawarden, some 5km to the south.[4] During the 2010s, a major restoration of Hawarden Bridge was conducted, enabling both the speed and axle load limitations to be raised. It has been protected as a Grade II listed structure.[5][6][1]

History

During the 1880s, the

Act of Parliament was obtained for the construction of a bridge on this site.[7]

Hawarden Bridge was designed by the

railway engineers of that era. The bridge was constructed by John Cochrane & Sons Contractors.[8] The construction process took roughly two years and cost around £70,000 to complete. To overcome the challenging conditions of the estuary, the foundations were built using a series of brick-lined wells, a technique mandated by the project's chief engineer, Frances Fox.[9] The bridge was officially opened to traffic on 3 August 1889; the opening ceremony was officiated by Catherine Gladstone, the wife of Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone.[1][10] Reportedly, Gladstone himself had laid the first cylinder in the river in an earlier ceremony to mark the commencement of the bridge's construction.[9]

A key feature of the Hawarden Bridge was its central section, which was referred to as Span 10; this allowed it to function as a swing bridge. As originally built, it was able to rotate through 90-degrees to enable the passage of tall ships on the river below. The section weighed 764 metric tonnes, had a length of 85 meters, and took 40 seconds to move between its closed and open positions.[1] The moving span was controlled from a manner on-shore tower adjacent to the bridge; this tower was demolished in 1976.[11] At the time of its completion, this was the largest opening span of any swing bridge in the United Kingdom.[7]

Presently, the bridge can no longer open, the span having been

drive chain and sprocket – is still visible beneath the bridge, the pumping stations and their steam engines, which were previously used for powering such motion, have been demolished.[1]

A pair of tracks crossing the deck of Hawarden Bridge

River traffic still travels underneath Hawarden Bridge. Perhaps most significant is the traffic from Airbus' nearby factory at Broughton; the large wings of the Airbus A380 superjumbo are transported from the facility on barges along the Dee roughly three times per week. These pass under the bridge before reaching the port of Mostyn, after which they are loaded onto larger sea-faring vessels for the trip to France.[1]

Additionally, both pedestrians and cyclists may also traverse Hawarden Bridge via a dedicated walkway. The walkway, which connected between the

registered charity Sustrans Cymru.[12] During late 2003, major improvements to the walkway were completed; these involved a widening of the crossing so that mounted cyclists could easily pass pedestrians, while cycle ramps were also installed at either end of the bridge.[10]

A train crossing over the Hawarden Bridge, 2012

Having been exposed to the harsh conditions of the

saltwater and weather, was attributed for its gradual degradation. Accordingly, restrictions were imposed upon all rail traffic, such as limiting trains possessing an axle load in excess of RA7 to traverse the bridge at a maximum speed of 20mph; during its transit, only the one track could loaded. These operational limitations became a nuisance to operators; national railway infrastructure company Network Rail openly stated that they desired an RA10 rating for the bridge, which would impose less restrictions.[1] In 2009, local councillors became concerned at the appearance of several cracks in the supporting brickwork of the bridge; following an inspection by Network Rail, its condition was determined to be safe and the damage to be largely aesthetic.[13]

During the 2010s, it was decided to embark on a major strengthening and restoration programme of Hawarden Bridge.

man hours. Reportedly, all of the planned objectives had been fulfilled, an RA10 rating has been instated while all operational restrictions upon Hawarden Bridge have been removed.[1][16]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Stacy, Mungo (16 February 2015). "Hawarden Swing Bridge". Rail Engineer. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  2. ^ Edben, Philip. "Weather in Wales – The Welsh Climate." The Daily Telegraph, 29 May 1999.
  3. ^ "Heatwave: It's Wales hottest day ever as temperature hits 35.3C". BBC News. 17 July 2019. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
  4. ^ "Heatwave: Wales' hottest day as temperature hits 37.1C". BBC News. 18 July 2022. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
  5. National Historic Assets of Wales
    . Retrieved 14 June 2022.
  6. ^ Cadw. "Hawarden Bridge [Sealand] (Grade II) (85250)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
  7. ^ a b Fox, Francis. "The Hawarden Bridge." Institute of Civil Engineers (ICE), Volume 108, Issue 1892, 1892. pp. 304-317. PART 2. E-ISSN 1753-7843.
  8. ^ "Disused Stations:Hawarden Bridge". www.disused-stations.org.uk. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  9. ^ a b "Hawarden Bridge". Shotton Town Council. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
  10. ^ a b "Dee-light at crossing revamp." dailypost.co.uk, 24 October 2003.
  11. ^ "Local History: Find out more about how the Sealand of today came about". Sealand Community Council. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
  12. ^ "Hawarden Bridge is closed today to cyclists and walkers on for essential maintenance." deeside.com, 13 December 2016.
  13. ^ "Rail bosses reassure Hawarden bridge is safe." The Chester Chronicle, 23 July 2013.
  14. ^ "Major work to strengthen Hawarden railway bridge completed." Network Rail Media Centre, 14 November 2014.
  15. ^ Doman, Robert. "£8m scheme restores Hawarden bridge to former glory." leaderlive.co.uk, 13 November 2014.
  16. ^ "Hawarden Swing Bridge." AMCO, Retrieved: 30 July 2018.

External links

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