The Transporter Bridge

The Newport Transporter Bridge is a crossing of the River Usk in the city of Newport, South Wales in the United Kingdom. It is a Grade I listed structure.

Designed by French engineer Ferdinand Arnodin, it was built in 1906 and opened by Godfrey Charles Morgan, 1st Viscount Tredegar on 12 September 1906. The span is an example of the very rare transporter bridge concept, of which only eight exist worldwide. The design was chosen because the river banks are very low at the desired crossing point (a few miles south of the city centre) where an ordinary bridge would need a very long approach ramp to attain sufficient height to allow ships to pass under, and a ferry could not be used during low tide at the site.

The height of the towers is 242 feet (74 metres) and the height of the horizontal beam above the road is 177 feet (54 metres). The platform travels the 592 feet (181 metres) between the towers at ten feet (three metres) per second.

The bridge was shut down in 1985 because of wear. Following a £3 million refurbishment, it reopened in 1995 and continues to operate today. Today, the bridge is widely regarded as the most recognisable symbol of the city. The one-way fare was 50p in 2003.

The bridge forms part of the classified highway network and is also where route 4 of the National Cycle Network crosses the River Usk and route 47 begins.

It was the focal point of the local millennium celebrations of 2000, where fireworks were fired from its length, and has been featured in several movies and television shows. It was the centrepiece of the Crow Point Festival in September 2006 to celebrate its centenary. At October 2007, the bridge is operating at weekends only.

Newport Transporter Bridge was 100 years old on September 12th 2006 and a special exhibition was held at Newport Museum & Art Gallery to mark the occasion.

Why was the Bridge needed?

In 1896 John Lysaght from Wolverhampton announced his attention to build a steel work in Newport and so he was attracted to a site on the east bank of the River Usk. As most of the workers came from the west bank of the river and the only crossing at the time was the Newport Town Bridge. Tunnels and high level bridges were rejected because of the financial cost and traditional moving bridges were considered unsuitable. the Borough Engineer of Newport at the time, R.H.Haynes had heard of the work of the French Engineer Ferdinand Arnodin and his 'aerial ferry' which appeared to meet Newport's needs. So the council went over to Rouen to inspect a similar Transbordeur designed by Arnodin, the borough elected to proceed without delay.

Parliamentary approval was obtained in 1900; Haynes and Arnodin were joint engineers on the project and in 1901 detailed plans were undertaken.

Newport Pictorial 1906 explains that;

“A most important work is now in progress and approaching completion. This is a Transporter Bridge, intended to improve cross-river traffic and thus to supplement, and of course relieve the existing Town Bridge, which even with the bracketed widening of the footpaths, is no longer equal to the great and increasing public requirements.”

It took 4 years to complete.

What is a Transporter Bridge?

A transporter bridge (also 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. Just eight, plus one converted into a lift bridge, continue to be used today.

 “It may be briefly described as an overhead Bridge, by means of which, not only will the great rise and fall of the tides be provided against, but the navigation kept clear in all other ways.” (Newport Pictorial 1906)

Building the Bridge

The South Wales Argus reported on the construction of the Transporter Bridge in 1905: “The people of Newport – and engineers from various parts of the country – watched the progress of the undertaking with curious, cynical, or sympathetic or hostile interest”

The Later History of the Bridge:

The Transporter Bridge has been a great attraction since the Opening Day when 8,000 people paid the penny toll to take the crossing, but it has always run at a financial loss. With the opening of the Alexandra Dock in 1914 which gave shipping access to the Bristol Channel beyond the Bridge and the increase in the use of cars and the opening of the George Street Bridge in 1963, the Transporter Bridge was used less and less. The Bridge was closed in 1985 and restored and re-opened in 1995.