Pages

Wednesday 18 September 2013

GATESHEAD MILLENNIUM BRIDGE: THE WORLD’S ONLY TILTING BRIDGE


New Picture 77
Gateshead Millennium Bridge: World’s Only Tilting Bridge
By Kaushik,
Amusing Planet, 17 September 2013.

The Gateshead Millennium Bridge is a pedestrian and cyclist bridge spanning River Tyne in England between Gateshead's Quays arts quarter on the south bank, and the Quayside of Newcastle on the north bank. The bridge is essentially two graceful curves, one forming the deck and the other supporting it, spanning between the two islands running parallel to the quaysides.

New Picture 78

To allow ships to pass underneath, this whole assembly rotates as a single, rigid structure. As the arch tilts lower, the pathway rises, each counterbalancing the other, and a pathway over the river is formed. The parabolic curves of the deck extend the 105m crossing distance to around 120m, giving enough extra length to provide the required clearance above the water.

New Picture 79

The appearance of the bridge when in motion leads to it sometimes being called the 'Blinking Eye Bridge' or the 'Winking Eye Bridge’ since its shape is akin to the blinking of an eye if seen from along the river. Visually elegant when static and in motion, the bridge offers a great spectacle during its opening operation.

New Picture 80

The bridge is operated by six 45 cm diameter Hydraulic rams, three on each side, and each powered by a 55 kW electric motor. Small ships and boats up to 25 meters tall can pass underneath. The bridge takes as little as 4.5 minutes to rotate through the full 40° from closed to open, depending on wind speed.

New Picture 81

The construction of the bridge won the architects Wilkinson Eyre the 2002 Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Stirling Prize, the 2003 Gifford IStructE Supreme Award, and in 2005, the Outstanding Structure Award from International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering (IABSE).

New Picture 82

Watch the videos of the bridge in operation at the end of this picture gallery.

New Picture 83

New Picture 84

New Picture 85

New Picture 86

New Picture 87

New Picture 88

New Picture 89

New Picture 90

Video 1: Gateshead Millennium Bridge


Video 2: Time-Lapse of Gateshead Millennium Bridge


More information at Gateshead Council and Wilkinson Eyre Architects websites.

Top image: The Gateshead Millennium Bridge at night. Credit: neuro/Wikimedia Commons.

[Source: Amusing Planet. Edited. Top image, video 2 and links added.]



No comments:

Post a Comment

Please adhere to proper blog etiquette when posting your comments. This blog owner will exercise his absolution discretion in allowing or rejecting any comments that are deemed seditious, defamatory, libelous, racist, vulgar, insulting, and other remarks that exhibit similar characteristics. If you insist on using anonymous comments, please write your name or other IDs at the end of your message.