Britannia Bridge

The Britannia Bridge is a bridge near Bangor in North Wales. Not far from the bridge that leads over the Menai Strait, is also the Menai Bridge. The original structure was destroyed by fire in 1970, the remains were canceled. A year later, in 1971, a new building was erected.

The first bridge ( 1850)

The first bridge was built in the years 1846 to 1850 according to plans by William Fairbairn and Robert Stephenson. Originally a suspension bridge was planned. However, since the box-shaped superstructures turned out to be very stiff, the suspension was not built. The bridge was used after its opening on March 5, 1850 by the railroad.

Method of construction

The bridge was built as a tube structure. Due to the omission in the pillars two girders were conducted, each containing a railroad track. The piers were built of stone, the girders were made of wrought iron. The bridge was 432 feet long. Of the two main openings per 146 meters, the side openings were each 70 feet long.

Details

At the two entrances of the bridge stone lion statues were erected, which are still present today.

Destruction

On May 23, 1970, the bridge was destroyed by arson. The fire was triggered by two boys playing inside the bridge with a torch. The hollow box construction had to be stopped due to enormous deflections. The stone pillar remained intact and were reused for the new Britannia Bridge.

Construction plans

New construction (1971 )

1971 established the Cleveland Bridge & Engineering Co. under the engineering consultancy of Husband & Partners, the Britannia Bridge with a new concept again. This time the bridge was built as a steel arch bridge. As an additional innovation now lead not only tracks, but also a road over the bridge.