The Acton swing bridge is a

swing bridge A swing bridge (or swing span bridge) is a movable bridge that has as its primary structural support a vertical locating pin and support ring, usually at or near to its center of gravity, about which the swing span (turning span) can then pi ...

spanning the

River Weaver The River Weaver is a river, navigable in its lower reaches, running in a curving route anti-clockwise across west Cheshire, northern England. Improvements to the river to make it navigable were authorised in 1720 and the work, which included ...

in the village of

Acton Bridge Map of the civil parish of Acton Bridge within the former borough of Vale Royal Acton Bridge (formerly Acton) is a village and civil parish in Cheshire, England. Located within the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester on the River Weav ...

in north Cheshire, England. First operated in 1933, it carries the A49 trunk road.

History

The bridge is 83.5 m long and 8 m high bowstring truss balanced swing bridge, based on an 1893 design by John Arthur Saner. It has two slightly skew spans of 25 m each, with the twin riveted steel trusses supported on a mass concrete pontoon chamber. It was built in an open position between 1931 and 1933 at a cost of £52,000, shutting for the first time on 10 August 1933. The current bridge replaced an older stone bridge which had been able to carry only one line of traffic with an axle weight limit of 8 tons (the first bridge across the Weaver at this point was built in 1751). The current bridge is approximately 100 m north (downstream) of the old bridge's abutments, visible on the river banks from the Leigh Arms car park. It has been subject to periodic strengthening (e.g. in 1987) and repair (e.g. in 2015). Today the structure of the bridge is maintained by the

Canal & River Trust The Canal & River Trust (CRT), branded as in Wales, holds the guardianship of 2,000 miles of canals and rivers, together with reservoirs and a wide range of heritage buildings and structures, in England and Wales. Launched on 12 July 2012, the ...

;

Cheshire West and Chester Council Cheshire West and Chester Council is the local authority of Cheshire West and Chester. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. It provides a full range of local government services ...

is responsible for maintaining the A49 road which it carries.

References

{{reflist Buildings and structures in Cheshire Swing bridges in England Bridges completed in 1933 Bridges in Cheshire

History

See also

References