Salford Quays lift bridge
Encyclopedia
Manchester Ship Canal
The Manchester Ship Canal is a river navigation 36 miles long in the North West of England. Starting at the Mersey Estuary near Liverpool, it generally follows the original routes of the rivers Mersey and Irwell through the historic counties of Cheshire and Lancashire. Several sets of locks lift...
, in Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...
, England
England
England 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...
. The bridge, which was completed in 2000, is located near the terminus of the canal at the old Manchester Docks
Manchester Docks
Manchester Dock and similar can mean:*"Manchester Docks" is another name for Salford Docks in Greater Manchester, England*Manchester Dock , an old dock in Liverpool, England...
. It links Salford Quays
Salford Quays
Salford Quays is an area of Salford in Greater Manchester, England, near the end of the Manchester Ship Canal. Previously the site of Manchester Docks, it became one of the first and largest urban regeneration projects in the United Kingdom following the closure of the dockyards in...
to Trafford Wharfside and has a lift of 18 metres, allowing large watercraft
Watercraft
A watercraft is a vessel or craft designed to move across or through water. The name is derived from the term "craft" which was used to describe all types of water going vessels...
to pass beneath it.
The bridge features prominently on the backdrop for the BBC North West Tonight
BBC North West Tonight
BBC North West Tonight is a nightly regional news programme covering the North West of England. Produced by BBC North West, the programme airs at 6.30pm and at 10:25pm every weekday evening and is broadcast from the BBC's MediaCityUK studios at Salford Quays.-BBC North West region:The BBC North...
television news programme, which also shows The Lowry
The Lowry
The Lowry is a theatre and gallery complex situated on Pier 8 at Salford Quays, in Salford, Greater Manchester, England. It is named after the early-20th century painter, L. S. Lowry, known for his paintings of industrial scenes in North West England...
and MediaCityUK.
Design
Designed by Carlos Fernandez Casado, the bridge has a main span of 95m in a Lohse Arch , with the two peaks of the twin arches connected at the crown. These brace one another, resulting in greater structural rigidity. The deck is connected to the arches with vertical members, which splay outwards at an increasing angle towards the centre of the span. The sweeping arches are decorated with blue LEDLEd
LEd is a TeX/LaTeX editing software working under Microsoft Windows. It is a freeware product....
lighting, while the deck is illuminated with white downlighting. Pedestrians are protected from the prevailing winds by glass sides, coloured blue at foot level and tapering in, following the angle of the arches.
The lifting design utilises four white tubular steel space truss towers with concrete
Concrete
Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...
counterweights mounted internally on red carriers, although early plans envisioned spherical counterweights. These are suspended by cable over large grey wheels, mounted above decorative triangular maintenance platforms. This counterbalancing system allows the bridge to complete a raising or lowering through its 18m lift in less than three minutes. The outermost truss sections of each tower curve away from the main bridge at the base, tapering to a point, and each tower is topped with two decorative blue lights. The four towers also feature uplighting from the maintenance platform, although this feature has not been operational for some time.
Although not commonly known, the bridge has a 'sister' by the same designer, located in Plentzia
Plentzia
Plentzia is a town and municipality located in the province of Biscay, in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country, in northern Spain. The town has 4,146 inhabitants ....
, north of Bilbao
Bilbao
Bilbao ) is a Spanish municipality, capital of the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. With a population of 353,187 , it is the largest city of its autonomous community and the tenth largest in Spain...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. While slightly larger than its Salford Quays counterpart, spanning 108m over the Plentzia river, it does not lift and consequently has no towers.
Construction
The bridge was built by Christiani & NielsenChristiani & Nielsen
Christiani & Nielsen is a construction contractor with major operations in Thailand and Southeast Asia. Originally a Danish company, it is today a listed company majority owned by the Crown Property Bureau of King Bhumibol of Thailand....
as the general contractor, who coordinated a 'float-in' installation of the operable span with freight transport specialist Econofreight. The movable span was winched into place between the four support towers from a barge. The approximate cost was USA $7.5 million at the time of construction.
The deck is an orthotropic
Orthotropic deck
An orthotropic bridge or orthotropic deck is one whose deck typically comprises a structural steel deck plate stiffened either longitudinally or transversely, or in both directions. This allows the deck both to directly bear vehicular loads and to contribute to the bridge structure's overall...
design, which is structurally more efficient than a concrete deck on top of steel deck beams. Orthotropic steel deck systems have begun to dominate movable spans in Europe because smaller towers and lifting mechanisms are required, using less energy to move them. Similar systems are used for welded steel ships and canal lock doors.
The lifting system itself was designed and installed by Bennett Associates, also responsible for the tilting mechanism on the Gateshead Millennium Bridge
Gateshead Millennium Bridge
The Gateshead Millennium Bridge is a pedestrian and cyclist tilt bridge spanning the River Tyne in England between Gateshead's Quays arts quarter on the south bank, and the Quayside of Newcastle upon Tyne on the north bank. The award-winning structure was conceived and designed by architects...
. The system normally operates from the electrical grid, although it has a diesel backup system in case of a power failure.
Operation
The control tower is located on the Salford QuaysSalford Quays
Salford Quays is an area of Salford in Greater Manchester, England, near the end of the Manchester Ship Canal. Previously the site of Manchester Docks, it became one of the first and largest urban regeneration projects in the United Kingdom following the closure of the dockyards in...
side of the ship canal
Manchester Ship Canal
The Manchester Ship Canal is a river navigation 36 miles long in the North West of England. Starting at the Mersey Estuary near Liverpool, it generally follows the original routes of the rivers Mersey and Irwell through the historic counties of Cheshire and Lancashire. Several sets of locks lift...
, from where the pedestrian barriers and lifting mechanism are operated. Except for Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
visits and dredging, most vessels entering the Salford Quays turning circle are pleasure craft, and as a consequence lifts are most commonly seen between April and October, when Mersey Ferries
Mersey Ferry
The Mersey Ferry is a ferry service operating on the River Mersey in north west England, between Liverpool and the Wirral Peninsula. Ferries have been used on this route since at least the 12th century, and continue to be popular for both local people and visitors.The current fleet consists of...
operate the popular Manchester Ship Canal Cruise service from Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
to Salford Quays
Salford Quays
Salford Quays is an area of Salford in Greater Manchester, England, near the end of the Manchester Ship Canal. Previously the site of Manchester Docks, it became one of the first and largest urban regeneration projects in the United Kingdom following the closure of the dockyards in...
.