Grandpont Bridge is a footbridge across the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...

near the centre of

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, England that was temporarily closed in March 2021. It links Friars Wharf in

St Ebbes St Ebbes is a district of central Oxford, England, southwest of Carfax, Oxford, Carfax. St Ebbes Street runs south from the western end of Queen Street, Oxford, Queen Street. __TOC__ Overview The area takes its name from the parish church ...

on the north bank to the Geoffrey Arthur Building of Pembroke College, built in 1990, and the

Grandpont Grandpont is a mainly residential area in south Oxford. It is west of Abingdon Road, and consists mainly of narrow streets that run at right angles to the main road, with terraced late- Victorian and Edwardian houses. It also contains the Grand ...

area. It crosses the Thames on the reach between

Iffley Lock Iffley Lock is a lock on the River Thames in England near the village of Iffley, Oxfordshire. It is on the southern outskirts of Oxford. The original lock was built by the Oxford-Burcot Commission in 1631 and the Thames Navigation Commissi ...

and

Osney Lock Osney Lock is a lock on the River Thames in Oxford, England, where the village or island of Osney is next to the river. The first lock was built of stone by Daniel Harris for the Thames Navigation Commission in 1790. Across the weir pool ...

. The bridge was also used by cyclists. It lies on the Hanson Way, part of

National Cycle Network The National Cycle Network (NCN) is the national cycling route network of the United Kingdom, which was established to encourage cycling and walking throughout Britain, as well as for the purposes of bicycle touring. It was created by the cha ...

route 5. The

Environment Agency The Environment Agency (EA) is a non-departmental public body, established in 1996 and sponsored by the United Kingdom government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with responsibilities relating to the protection and enha ...

refers to the bridge as "Grandpont Bridge". Other sources also call the bridge "Oxford footbridge", and "Gasworks Pipe Bridge", the name being for the

town gas Coal gas is a flammable gaseous fuel made from coal and supplied to the user via a piped distribution system. It is produced when coal is heated strongly in the absence of air. Town gas is a more general term referring to manufactured gaseous ...

, chiefly methane, produced by the treatment of coal and its less congealed coke form in particular. The bridge was built in the 1930s. The bridge only carried a utility pipe and lacked a walkway in 1977. Following a survey which revealed a danger of collapse, it was closed to traffic in March 2021. A contractor was appointed to fix the bridge in April of 2023, and works are scheduled to be complete by October 2023. The bridge takes its name from Grandpont, the area south of the bridge, which itself takes its name from a much earlier bridge-causeway which included the next bridge downstream, now known as

Folly Bridge Folly Bridge is a stone bridge over the River Thames carrying the Abingdon Road south from the centre of Oxford, England. It was erected in 1825–27, to designs of a little-known architect, Ebenezer Perry (died 1850), who practised in London. ...

References

See also