Newburn Bridge

Newburn Bridge is a road bridge crossing the River Tyne at Newburn in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It links Newburn, Walbottle and Throckley on the north side of the river with Ryton, Stella and Blaydon on the south side. The bridge is the westernmost crossing of the Tyne in the county of Tyne and Wear; the next crossing upstream, Wylam Bridge, is in Northumberland.

Newburn Bridge
Newburn Bridge viewed from the south east, June 2004
Coordinates54.9807°N 1.7436°W / 54.9807; -1.7436
OS grid referenceNZ165652
Carries
  • Motor Vehicles
  • Cycles
  • Pedestrians
CrossesRiver Tyne
LocaleTyneside
Preceded byWylam Bridge
Followed byBlaydon Bridge
Characteristics
DesignLattice girder bridge
MaterialSteel
Pier constructionWrought iron filled with concrete
Total length144.8 m (475 ft)
Width8.54 m (28 ft)
No. of spans4
Piers in water3
Load limit10 t
No. of lanesSingle carriageway controlled by traffic lights
History
DesignerSandeman & Moncrieff
Constructed byHead Wrightson
Construction start1892
Construction end1893
Opened21 May 1893 (1893-05-21)
Location

History

This part of the river has been forded since Roman times because it is the most eastern part of the Tyne that is easily fordable. There have also been numerous ferries operated in the part of the river around Newburn. A bridge was finally built between 1892 and 1893. It was designed by Sandeman & Moncrieff of Newcastle and built by Head Wrightson of Thornaby-on-Tees. It was opened on 21 May 1893. For the first 50 or so years of its use, it was a toll bridge, until it was bought by Northumberland County Council in 1947. The toll house on the northeast side of the bridge has since been demolished. The bridge used to have two lanes crossing it up until the 1960s. It has since had single road traffic because of the weight limit of 9 tonnes (8.858 long tons; 9.921 short tons), later raised to 10 tonnes (9.842 long tons; 11.02 short tons).

In 2007 the bridge was closed for a number of months for renovation and repainting.

In 2018 the bridge closed and will remain closed for several months, except for footpath access.[1]

Bridge re-opened in September 2018

References
  1. "'Vital' Newburn Bridge repairs to take up to two months". BBC News. BBC. 26 May 2018. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
Next bridge upstream River Tyne Next bridge downstream
Wylam Bridge Newburn Bridge
Grid reference NZ165652		 Blaydon Bridge
 A1 


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