Tamar Bridge

The Tamar Bridge is a major road bridge in southwest England carrying traffic between Devon and Cornwall. When it opened in 1961 it was the longest suspension bridge in the United Kingdom. In 2001 it became the world's first suspension bridge to be widened (from three to five lanes) using cantilevers, and the world's first bridge to undergo strengthening and widening work while remaining open to traffic. The five lanes are divided as follows: three lanes carry the A38 trunk road, the fourth is reserved for eastbound local traffic and the fifth for pedestrians and cyclists. Previously all traffic merged and shared the three lanes.

Construction of the Tamar Bridge began in July 1959. Before this, the lowest road crossing of the River Tamar was Gunnislake New Bridge at the village of Gunnislake. This seven-arched granite bridge was built in the early 16th century (c. 1520). It is still in use today but it is only wide enough to carry one lane of traffic. Before the Tamar Bridge was opened, most car drivers wishing to travel between Saltash (on the Cornish side) and the Devon city of Plymouth used car ferries. Today the Tamar Bridge carries approximately 40 000 vehicles every day. It is co-owned by Plymouth City Council and Cornwall County Council, and is managed by the Tamar Bridge and Torpoint Ferry Joint Committee. A toll of GBP1.00 per car is charged when driving from Cornwall into Devon.

The Tamar Bridge is located above the Hamoaze, and runs parallel to Isambard Kingdom Brunel's Royal Albert Bridge (usually simply referred to as Brunel Bridge) which opened in 1859 and is considered to be one of his greatest railway achievements. Both bridges offer wonderful views of the Tamar Valley and Tamar Estuary. The Tamar, Lynher and Tavy Valleys form one of England's thirty-seven Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Construction of the Tamar Bridge

Why it was needed

In the 1950s (and for centuries before this) road users wishing to drive from Saltash to Plymouth had two main choices. They could take a long detour north either to Gunnislake New Bridge (a one-lane medieval bridge), or even further north to the land-link between Devon and Cornwall. Or they could cross the river by ferry. For centuries there was a ferry link between the two counties just downstream from the current bridge, but the ferries did not have sufficient capacity to transport large numbers of vehicles.

After failing to secure government funding for a new road bridge, Plymouth City Council and Cornwall County Council applied for permission to operate a toll bridge for which they received Royal assent in 1957.

Construction

The Tamar Bridge was the first major suspension bridge to be constructed in the UK after the Second World War. It was also the longest suspension bridge in the UK at that time. Its central span measures 335m (1100ft).

The bridge was constructed by Cleveland Bridge and Engineering Company, and building work began in July 1959. It had a concrete deck, and was capable of carrying lorries up to 38 tonnes. The construction cost over GBP1.5 million, and the bridge opened to traffic in October 1961. H.M. Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother officially opened the bridge on April 26 1962.

Tamar Bridge in use

The bridge was three lanes wide (until 2001, see below). Local traffic had to merge with traffic from the A38 trunk road, which runs from Bodmin in Cornwall to Mansfield in Nottinghamshire (approximately 300 miles (490km)). The point at which the two streams of traffic merged to cross the bridge into Devon was a notorious accident black spot.

In 1961, approximately 4000 vehicles used the Tamar Bridge each day. This had dramatically increased by 1990s. In 1998 the hourly rate during the morning rush hour was 2500 vehicles. The average weekday saw 38 200 vehicles cross the bridge and the summer weekday flow was even higher at 42 900 (the Tamar Bridge is an important tourist route into Cornwall). In contrast, the Torpoint ferry link could transport a maximum of 300 vehicles per hour. (See [1] (http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/ld199798/ldselect/ldtamar/129/12903.htm)) The Torpoint Ferries operate between the Cornish town of Torpoint and the Devon city of Plymouth; this is more southerly crossing than the Tamar Bridge, linking Torpoint and the Rame Peninsula to Devon. As such it is not in competition with the Tamar Bridge, in fact the Tamar Bridge and Torpoint Ferry Joint Committee manage the bridge, and revenue from its tolls subsidise the Torpoint ferries.

Widening and strengthening

Why this was necessary

Close-up of the cantilever platforms being added to the Tamar Bridge during the strengthening and widening project, 1999

In the late 1990s, after nearly four decades of use, it was found that the Tamar Bridge would not be able to meet a new European Union directive that bridges should be capable of carrying lorries up to 40 tonnes. In fact, the concrete deck had deteriorated so much that the weight limit for vehicles crossing bridge was in danger of being reduced to 17 tonnes. It was agreed that this restriction would damage the local economy, so the bridge needed to be strengthened or replaced.

It was estimated that building an alternative river crossing would cost in excess of GBP300 million. Once a viable strengthening scheme was proposed, the idea of building a new bridge was abandoned due to the high cost.

The main problem with strengthening the Tamar Bridge was that since it catered for around 40 000 vehicles a week, closing it for the duration was not a viable option. An engineer proposed temporarily adding cantilever platforms to the sides of the bridge to accommodate traffic while the main deck was strengthened. Once this revolutionary technique had been accepted, it was soon decided that these two extra lanes should be permanent additions to the bridge in order to increase the number of lanes from three to five.

This additional capacity was not expected to encourage a large increase in the number of vehicles using the Tamar Bridge. The A38 passes through the three-lane Saltash Tunnel on the Cornish side of the bridge (this acts as a by-pass for Saltash and opened in 1988). The tunnel was expected to regulate the amount of traffic using the bridge despite the increased capacity. The real benefit of these extra lanes would be to make the Tamar Bridge safer and more pleasant for all types of traffic. Pedestrians and cyclists would be safer since they were properly separated from all motor vehicles. Also, local traffic eastbound from Saltash would no longer have to merge with the A38, eliminating a notorious accident black spot.

Progress of the project

The principal designer of the strengthening and widening of the Tamar Bridge was Hyder Consulting Ltd, and the principal contractor was Cleveland Bridge UK Ltd (who originally built the bridge). The overall cost was approximately GBP34 million (a fraction of the estimated GBP300 million for a new bridge). This was funded from the revenue from tolls paid to cross the Tamar Bridge into Devon.

Work began on the Tamar Bridge in March 1999 and was completed, one month behind schedule, in December 2001. At one point the project was three months behind schedule. The delays were due both to an embargo on road works for the total solar eclipse of August 11 1999 which saw tourists flock to Cornwall, one of the few areas of the UK in the path of totality, and also due to extremely bad weather during the winter of 1999/2000.

The improved bridge was fully opened to traffic on December 20 2001 (although it was never fully closed, in fact during peak hours every effort was made to keep three lanes open). The Tamar Bridge was officially reopened by Princess Anne on April 26 2002—forty years to the day after it was first officially opened.

How it was strengthened and widened

The Tamar Bridge originally had a concrete deck. This had degraded so seriously over its four decades of use that rather than simply being reinforced it was entirely replaced by an orthotropic steel deck (i.e. a deck formed from steel plates supported underneath by longitudinal ribs or stiffeners). The members were also strengthened by the addition of steelwork, and 18 new diagonal cable stays were fitted. The two new cantilever lanes were added to the bridge before the old concrete deck was replaced so as to be available to diverted traffic. At all times during the project, the importance of maintaining the flow of traffic over the bridge was emphasised. Even during construction work the Tamar Bridge served approximately 40 000 vehicles a week.

When modifying suspension bridges engineers have to be constantly aware of the distribution of weight. At first, steel may sound like an unlikely choice of construction material for the replacement deck, especially since the bridge will have to support five lanes of steel deck instead of the original three of concrete. However, even with the replacement steel deck and the addition of two cantilever lanes, the new bridge weighs only 25 tonnes more than the original.

The new steel deck is formed from 82 orthotropic panels. Each panel weighs 20 tonnes, and measures 15m by 6m (approximately 49ft by 20ft). They were constructed in Darlington, County Durham by Cleveland Bridge UK Ltd and driven nearly 400 miles (over 600km) to the Tamar Bridge and welded together on site.

Worldwide recognition

The Tamar Bridge is the world's first suspension bridge to be widened using cantilevers, and the world's first bridge to be widened and strengthened while remaining open to traffic. This innovative engineering project has received many awards and its place in the annals of engineering is assured.

The Tamar Bridge strengthening and widening project was:

• the winner of the highly prestigious British Construction Industry Civil Engineering Award for 2002 [2] (http://www.bciawards.org.uk/). The BCIAs are widely considered to be one of the highest honours in the industry.
• the winner of the Historic Structures category (30 years or older) of the Institution of Civil Engineers Awards 2002 [3] (http://www.ice.org.uk/)
• one of eight finalists for the Prime Minister's Better Public Building Award 2002 [4] (http://www.betterpublicbuildings.gov.uk/).

Engineers from around the world have been interested in the project. For example, Bill Moreau, the chief engineer for the New York State Bridge Authority USA, has visited the newly reopened Tamar Bridge to examine the project with a view to adapting it for some of New York's aging stock of suspension bridges. Moreau is responsible for two suspension bridges, both of which are older than the Tamar Bridge: Bear Mountain (1924) and Mid-Hudson (1931). Famous suspension bridges in New York City include the Brooklyn (1883), Manhattan (1909), George Washington (1931) and Bronx Whitestone (1931) bridges.

A focus for protest

As a recognisable symbol of the local area, as well as the main road connection between Cornwall and the rest of England and the UK, the Tamar Bridge is often used for a focus for protests or charity events.

Local commercial radio station Pirate FM (named for the history of sea pirates, it's not an illegal pirate radio station) held a charity fundraiser in April 2002 which involved redecorating the newly reopened Tamar Bridge. They hung a 563m (1848 ft) clothesline along the entire span of the bridge, and decked it out with 1000 pairs of underwear (knickers, panties, bloomers, thongs...).

In March 1998, after the closure of Europe's last tin mine South Crofty in Cornwall (which has since reopened), campaigners trying to raise the profile of Cornwall's economic crisis encouraged commuters to pay the £1.00 toll in pennies. Since the bridge serves 2500 vehicles an hour in peak times, any scheme that slows down the process of paying tolls is likely to cause long tailbacks and make the news.

January 23 2004 four protesters climbed onto the gantry over the Tamar Bridge to highlight the work of the group Fathers 4 Justice who promote the rights of fathers in custody disputes. Similar protests for male custody rights in 2004 have also taken place on cranes next to Exeter Crown Court (in Devon) and at next to Tower Bridge, London.

The bridge has unusually become such a cultural focus for its surrounding areas, including Plymouth and parts of Cornwall, that references to the bridge have often found their way into local expressions. Indeed, references to bridges in Plymouth circle almost exclusively around the bridge itself. The site has, over the years, become a focal point of many wishing to end their own life, possibly due to the fact that the bridge covers an isolated part of the 6km long Wolseley Road and the River Tamar itself, making bodies difficult to find. Many expressions, for example, "Go jump in the Tamar!" as a euphemism for "Go away!", have developed around this.

External links

• The images in this article were taken by Tony Tapp (http://www.tech.plym.ac.uk/civ/staff/tonytapp.htm) and are used with permission
• Google image search for Tamar Bridge (http://images.google.com/images?q=tamar+bridge&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&safe=active&output=search)

• Plymouth City Council (http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/)
• Cornwall County Council (http://www.cornwall.gov.uk/)

• Official Tamar Bridge website (http://www.tamarbridge.org.uk/)
• Official Torpoint Ferry website (http://www.torpointferry.org.uk/)

• The Tamar Bridge Act 1998 (http://www.hmso.gov.uk/acts/locact98/19980004.htm)
• From the Select Committee on the Tamar Bridge Bill (http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/ld199798/ldselect/ldtamar/129/12903.htm) (widening and strengthening)

• Hyder Consulting Ltd (http://www.hyder-consulting.com/)
• Cleveland Bridge Ltd (http://www.clevelandbridge.com/content.html)

• The British Construction Industry Awards (http://www.bciawards.org.uk/)
• Institution of Civil Engineers (http://www.ice.org.uk/)
• Better Public Building Awards (http://www.betterpublicbuildings.gov.uk/)