Transporter bridge

A transporter bridge, also known as a 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. There are just twelve that continue to be used today, including one converted into a lift bridge and one designed as, but not yet operating as, a transporter bridge.

Examples

• Transporter.3.750pix.jpg

  The Newport Transporter Bridge can carry 6 cars and 120 passengers

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  The Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge; the gondola can carry 200 people, 9 cars or 6 cars and one minibus.

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  A transporter bridge in operation

• Osten.jpg

  Osten Transporter Bridge

• Rendsburg Schwebefähre abends.jpg

  Rendsburg High Bridge

• Royal Victoria Dock Bridge.jpg

  The Royal Victoria Dock Bridge in London

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  The Vizcaya Bridge in Portugalete is a World Heritage Site

History

The concept of the transporter bridge was invented in 1873 by Charles Smith (1844-82) the manager of an engine works in Hartlepool, England. He called it a "bridge ferry" and unsuccessfully presented his ideas to councils in Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, and Glasgow.

The first transporter bridge, Vizcaya Bridge was built between Las Arenas and Portugalete, Spain, in 1893. The design from Alberto Palacio inspired others to attempt similar structures. The idea came about in locations where it was seen as impractical to build long approach ramps that would be required to reach a high span, and in places where ferries are not easily able to cross. Because transporter bridges can carry only a limited load, the idea was little used after the rise of the automobile.

The first such bridge built in France, the 1898 Rouen bridge crossing the Seine, was destroyed by the French army to slow down German troops in World War II. Transporter bridges were popular in France, where five were erected and another partially completed.

The United Kingdom has four transporter bridges, though Warrington Transporter Bridge is disused and the modern Royal Victoria Dock Bridge, though designed with the potential to be used as a transporter bridge, has so far only been used as a high-level footbridge. The Newport Transporter Bridge was built in 1906 across the River Usk in Newport. Because the river banks are very low at the crossing point (a few miles south of the city centre) a traditional bridge would need a very long approach ramp and a ferry could not be used at low tide. The Newport bridge was a Ferdinand Arnodin design. The Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge, crossing the River Tees, featured in the 2002 series of the popular British TV show Auf Wiedersehen, Pet; the programme's plot had the bridge being dismantled and re-erected in Arizona, USA. The Widnes-Runcorn Transporter Bridge, demolished in the early 1960s, was the first of its type in Britain, and the largest ever built.

In the United States, two such bridges were built. The first was the Aerial Bridge built in Duluth, Minnesota in 1905, although the city had originally planned to build a vertical lift bridge at the site. The transporter design was used for about 25 years before the structure was reconfigured to lift a central span in 1930.

The second American transporter bridge was different from other designs and partially resembled gondola lifts used in mountainous regions. The Sky Ride was part of the 1933–34 Chicago World's Fair ("Century of Progress"), it was taken down after standing for just two years. However, it was the longest bridge of this type ever built at the time.

Two historic transporter bridges survived in Germany. A unique example is the bridge at Rendsburg, from 1913 which is two bridges in one: A railroad link crosses high above on the top span, and the suspended ferry carries traffic on the valley floor. The bridge at Osten is four years older and was the first transporter bridge in Germany.

The Soviet Union built the longest known transporter bridge in Stalingrad (now Volgograd) in 1955.

Known transporter bridges

Surviving historic bridges

Bridge	Location	Completed	Span	In Use?	Notes
Vizcaya Bridge	Portugalete (Bilbao), Spain	1893	164 m (538 ft)	Yes	In use 24/7, passenger fare 0.35 euro in 2012, declared in 2006 World Heritage Site by Unesco. Prototype for subsequent bridges.
Rochefort-Martrou Transporter Bridge	Rochefort, Charente-Maritime, France	1900	140 m (460 ft)	Yes	In use during the summer. This bridge may be seen in the film The Young Girls of Rochefort.
Aerial Lift Bridge	Duluth, Minnesota, USA	1905	120 m (390 ft)	No	No longer a transporter bridge; converted into a lift bridge in 1929, in use.
Newport Transporter Bridge	Newport, United Kingdom	1906	196.6 m (645 ft)	Yes	Re-opened on 30 July 2010 after closing completely in 2008 for a £2 million restoration. Appears in the film Tiger Bay.
Osten Transporter Bridge	Osten, Germany	1909	80 m (260 ft)	Yes	In use, but only as a tourist attraction.
Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge	Middlesbrough, United Kingdom	1911	180 m (590 ft)	Yes	Refitted motors in 2010. Still in use, not in high winds
Puente Transbordador	Buenos Aires, Argentina	1914	103.6 m (340 ft)	No	Still in place but disused since 1960.
Puente Nicolás Avellaneda	Buenos Aires, Argentina	1940	45 m (147.6 ft)	No	Still in place, bridge used by vehicles, lifting mechanism works, transporter doesn´t work. Only known lift and transporter bridge simultaneously.
Rendsburg High Bridge	Rendsburg, Germany	1913	140 m (460 ft)	Yes	In use, only known combo railroad/transporter bridge.
Warrington Transporter Bridge	Warrington, United Kingdom	1916	57 m (187 ft)	No	Disused. Listed as an "ancient monument", but still at risk. (One of two originally at this site; the other, from 1905 did not survive.)

New builds

Bridge	Location	Completed	Span	In Use?	Notes
Royal Victoria Dock Bridge	London, United Kingdom	1998	128 m	No	Designed to allow use as a transporter bridge but currently only in use as a high-level footbridge.
Erlebnisbrücke	Near Mönchengladbach, Germany	2003	~ 10 m	Yes	Human-powered small bridge.
Transborder near Hamrštejn Castle	borderline of Liberec and Chrastava, over Lusatian Neisse, Czech Republic	2010	23 m	Yes	Human-powered small wooden bridge.

Former historic bridges

Bridge	Location	Completed	Span	Notes
Bizerta/Brest Transporter Bridge	Bizerta, Tunisia	1898	109 m	Moved to Brest, France in 1909, damaged 1944, demolished 1947.
Bordeaux Transporter Bridge	Bordeaux, France	—	400 m (total)	Started 1910, but never completed. Demolished in 1942.
Devil's Dyke Transporter Bridge	Devil's Dyke, UK	1894	198 m	Demolished 1909.
Kiel Transporter Bridge	Kiel, Germany	1910	128 m	Demolished, 1923.
Marseille Transporter Bridge	Marseille, France	1905	165 m	Destroyed, 1944.
Nantes Transporter Bridge	Nantes, France	1903	141 m	Demolished, 1958.
Puente Transbordador Presidente Sáenz Peña	Buenos Aires, Argentina	1913		Demolished, 1965.
Puente Transbordador Presidente Urquiza	Buenos Aires, Argentina	1915		Demolished, 1968.
Rio de Janeiro Transporter Bridge	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	1915	171 m	Demolished, 1935.
Rouen Transporter Bridge	Rouen, France	1898	142 m	Destroyed, 1940.
Sky Ride	Chicago, Illinois, USA	1933	564 m	Demolished, 1934.
Stalingrad Transporter Bridge	Volgograd, Russia	1955	874 m	Demolished.
Widnes-Runcorn Transporter Bridge	Widnes-Runcorn, United Kingdom	1905	304 m	Demolished, 1961.

See also

• Movable bridge for a list of other movable bridge types

External links

• BBC Article on the Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge
• Warrington Transporter Bridge
• BBC article on the Bridges of the River Tees
• Structurae: Transporter bridges
• The World of Transporter bridges (German)
• Rochefort Transporter Bridge official website
• Flying Bridges: A Short History of Transporter Bridges