For centuries, travel to Anglesey from the mainland was often hazardous. Ferries traversed the Menai Straits at various places, but the currents are tricky and numerous boats capsized or ran aground, often with loss of life. This meant that the numbers of people wishing to cross the Straits increased as politicians commuted to and from Ireland to parliament in London.
The route from London to Holyhead became an important roadway, representing a physical link between parliament and Ireland. Although well travelled, the journey was still notoriously dangerous. In , a civil engineer called Thomas Telford began working on ambitious improvements to journey between London and the port of Holyhead. Stephenson faced a much greater challenge in raising the 1, ton finished tubes than had Telford with his much lighter chains. He too would float the tube into position.
However, the process didn't go as smoothly with the first tube as with the Menai Bridge chains and the giant tube came close to being swept out to sea. Fortune prevailed and it did finally end up in place. Then, very slowly, using hydraulic pumps, the tube was raised into position. Stonework was built up under the ends of the tube as it was lifted; this was to support it if the lifting equipment failed.
This was fortunate because one pump did indeed fail, but the tube only fell nine inches. With the tubes in place the final touches were added. These are the four magnificent limestone lions that guard the entrances to the bridge. The lions are almost 4 metres high and sit on plinths of equal height. The bridge was opened on 5 March The present day bridge has a much different appearance than the original.
This is because it has been reconstructed after a disastrous fire in A group of teenagers looking for bats in the dark tubes accidentally dropped the burning paper they were using as a torch. This eventually started a ferocious fire through the whole tubular structure that caused so much damage to the tubes that they were in danger of falling into the strait. You can see video clips about the fire, including footage of the flames and an interview with one of the teenagers, on the BBC web site and Youtube or a longer version on YouTube , and the 2d As assessments were being made as to how to repair the bridge the local County Surveyor came up with the clever idea of making two bridges out of one.
For many years there had been discussions of building a third bridge across the strait to ease the traffic congestion on the Menai Bridge. It was proposed that the Britannia Bridge be rebuilt as a two level bridge carrying both trains and road traffic. Rather than being a tubular bridge the new span is now supported by arches. A single railway track carries the trains to and from Holyhead. On top of this is a roadway carrying traffic on the A55 Expressway.
Another Youtube video tells the story of the reconstruction, with lots of archival footage. And today, the lions that once had pride of place at the entrance to the tubular bridge now sit forlornly below the road surface as thousands of vehicles thunder past. Update - The closure of the Menai Bridge for repairs in caused severe traffic problems on the Britannia Bridge. This, plus the increase in traffic that inevitably will be caused by the building of a new dual-carriageway across Anglesey, means that there have been new calls locally for a third crossing to be built across the Strait.
One favourite option is to build a new deck on top of the Britannia Bridge, so that it has two levels for cars. Whether this will happen remains to be seen. Update 2, Oct. It has been estimated that this would cost at least as much as the whole dual carriageway across Anglesey.
It also may not be feasible because the strait is formed from a geological fault which is still occasionally active. An alternative is to convert the Britannia Bridge from two to three lanes, with the traffic direction of the centre lane changing at different times of the day.
Update 3, Dec. Site Record. Site Advanced Search. You have no advanced search rows. Menai Bridge Loading Map. NPRN To kill two birds with one stone, so to speak, it was decided that if the damage was to be repaired, then a road bridge would be added above.
To account for the additional weight strain that this would impose the engineers added arches to the structure of the bridge, which are now the main support. The road above is now part of the new A55 expressway. Whilst repairs to this vital rail link were carried out, passengers would disembark from the train at Bangor, and be ferried to Llanfair PG by coach, where they then embarked on the remainder of their rail journey.
And of course vice versa. You must be logged in to post a comment. Menai Bridge He started work on the Menai Suspension Bridge in , and it was completed and opened on 30th Jan The road surface of the bridge covers a distance of circa foot.
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