The
Queen Elizabeth II Bridge is a 137 m (449 ft) high and 812 m (2,664 ft) long
cable-stayed road bridgeA cable-stayed bridge is a bridge that consists of one or more columns , with cables supporting the bridge deck....
across the
River ThamesThe River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
in south east
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It was opened in 1991 by Her Majesty
Queen Elizabeth IIElizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
.
The bridge is the southbound element of the
Dartford CrossingThe Dartford - Thurrock River Crossing, Dartford River Crossing is a major road crossing of the River Thames in England, connecting Dartford in the south to Thurrock in the north, via two road tunnels and the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge. It opened in stages, the west tunnel in 1963, the east tunnel...
, a strategic congestion charged road crossing the half mile wide river east of London. It was built alongside two earlier tunnels under the Thames, which now form the northbound element of the crossing.
Upon completion, the bridge was Europe's largest cable-supported bridge. As of 2010 by main span length it is the second largest cable-stayed bridge in the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
behind the
Second Severn CrossingThe Second Severn Crossing is a bridge which carries the M4 motorway over the River Severn between England and Wales, inaugurated on 5 June 1996 by HRH The Prince of Wales to augment the traffic capacity of the original Severn Bridge built in 1966...
(6 m longer and opened in 1996) and the 44th
largest cable-stayed bridge in the world.
Locale
The bridge is the easternmost road bridge crossing the River Thames. At the time of opening it was only the second bridge on the River Thames east (downstream) of
London BridgeLondon Bridge is a bridge over the River Thames, connecting the City of London and Southwark, in central London. Situated between Cannon Street Railway Bridge and Tower Bridge, it forms the western end of the Pool of London...
constructed in over a thousand years. The historic reason for this is that bridges prohibited
tall shipA tall ship is a large, traditionally-rigged sailing vessel. Popular modern tall ship rigs include topsail schooners, brigantines, brigs and barques. "Tall Ship" can also be defined more specifically by an organization, such as for a race or festival....
s and other large ships from reaching the
Pool of LondonThe Pool of London is a part of the Tideway of the River Thames from London Bridge to below Tower Bridge. It was the original part of the Port of London. The Pool of London is divided into two parts, the Upper Pool and Lower Pool...
, which has led to the building of numerous tunnels instead, until the construction of large bridges became feasible.
Specifications
The bridge's main span, the length of road deck between its two main towers (pylons), measures 450 metres (1,476 ft). This together with two 181 m outer spans either side gives the bridge an overall suspended road deck length of 812 metres (2,664 ft) metres. The outer spans are also supported underneath by concrete pillars.
Connecting with the bridge's road deck joints are the approach roads, elevated on concrete viaducts. The northern elevated approach is 1052 m (3,451 ft) long, while the southern elevated approach is 1008 m (3,307 ft) long. The suspended bridge deck when combined together with the approach viaducts forms a total elevated stretch of road 2872 m (9,423 ft) long.
The road deck of the bridge is supported by cables attached to 84 m (276 ft) metre high steel pylons rising above the road deck, standing on top of 53 m (174 ft) metre high concrete piers. These give the bridge an overall height of 137 m (449 ft).
The highest point of the road deck rises 65 m (213 ft) above the river, giving a clearance below to shipping of 57.5 m (189 ft) to accommodate all but the largest ocean-going cruise liners (for example the
MS Freedom of the SeasMS Freedom of the Seas is a cruise ship owned and operated by Royal Caribbean International. It is the namesake of Royal Caribbean's Freedom class cruise ships, and can accommodate 3,634 passengers and 1,300 crew on fifteen passenger decks...
is 63.7 m tall above the
waterlineThe term "waterline" generally refers to the line where the hull of a ship meets the water surface. It is also the name of a special marking, also known as the national Load Line or Plimsoll Line, to be positioned amidships, that indicates the draft of the ship and the legal limit to which a ship...
).
Construction
The construction project of the bridge was an early example of a government
Private Finance InitiativeThe private finance initiative is a way of creating "public–private partnerships" by funding public infrastructure projects with private capital...
(PFI) project, whereby the bridge was funded by a private consortium in return for an operating concession. Authorised by a Parliamentary bill in 1988, construction began in August 1988 and was completed on 7 June 1991, with the bridge being officially opened on 30 October 1991. The bridge has an expected life span of 120 years.
The bridge superstructure was designed by German civil engineer Hellmut Homberg. The bridge was his last design as he died in July 1990. The bridge was built by
Cleveland Bridge & Engineering CompanyThe Cleveland Bridge & Engineering Company is a renowned bridge building and structural engineering company based in Darlington, England. It has been involved in many major projects including the Victoria Falls Bridge and the Humber Bridge.-History:...
, at the time part of
Trafalgar House plcTrafalgar House Public Limited Company was a British conglomerate with interests in property investment, property development, engineering, construction, shipping, hotels, energy and publishing...
. Construction of the bridge itself cost £120 million (£ as of ), with another £30m for the approach road viaducts.
Closure contingency
The height of the bridge means that it is sometimes closed due to high winds, accidents or in bad weather. Unlike other major bridges, the traffic disruption that this causes can be mitigated in part by the diversion of traffic through one of the Dartford tunnels which were in place before the bridge opened. Despite this, a closure still generates significant delays.
See also
- List of bridges in the United Kingdom
- Thames Gateway
The Thames Gateway is an area of land stretching east from inner east London on both sides of the River Thames and the Thames Estuary. The area, which includes much brownfield land, has been designated a national priority for urban regeneration, taking advantage of the development opportunities...
- Thames Gateway Bridge
The Thames Gateway Bridge was a proposed crossing over the River Thames in east London, England. It was first mooted in the 1970s but never came to fruition...
- Lower Thames Crossing
The Lower Thames Crossing is a proposed new crossing of the Thames estuary linking the county of Kent with the county of Essex at or east of the existing Dartford crossing.-Description:...
- Humber Bridge
The Humber Bridge, near Kingston upon Hull, England, is a 2,220 m single-span suspension bridge, which opened to traffic on 24 June 1981. It is the fifth-largest of its type in the world...
(the longest bridge in the UK, linking Kingston upon HullKingston upon Hull , usually referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary, 25 miles inland from the North Sea. Hull has a resident population of...
with North LincolnshireNorth Lincolnshire is a unitary authority area in the region of Yorkshire and the Humber in England. For ceremonial purposes it is part of Lincolnshire....
.)
External links