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 The gondola (, ; vec, góndoła ) is a traditional, flat-bottomed Venetian rowing boat, well suited to the conditions of the Venetian lagoon. It is typically propelled by a gondolier, who uses a rowing oar, which is not fastened to the hull, ...

is slung from a tall span by

wire Overhead power cabling. The conductor consists of seven strands of steel (centre, high tensile strength), surrounded by four outer layers of aluminium (high conductivity). Sample diameter 40 mm A wire is a flexible strand of metal. Wire is co ...

s or a metal frame. The design has been used to cross navigable

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of ...

s 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 A vertical-lift bridge or just lift bridge is a type of movable bridge in which a span rises vertically while remaining parallel with the deck. The vertical lift offers several benefits over other movable bridges such as the bascule and sw ...

and one designed as, but not yet operating as, a transporter bridge.

History

The concept of the transporter bridge was invented in 1873 by Charles Smith (1844–1882), the manager of an engine works in

Hartlepool Hartlepool () is a seaside and port town in County Durham, England. It is the largest settlement and administrative centre of the Borough of Hartlepool. With an estimated population of 90,123, it is the second-largest settlement in County D ...

, England. He called it a "bridge ferry" and unsuccessfully presented his ideas to councils in Hartlepool,

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the ...

, and

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popu ...

. The first transporter bridge,

Vizcaya Bridge The Vizcaya Bridge (''Bizkaiko Zubia'' in Basque, ''Puente de Vizcaya'' in Spanish) is a transporter bridge that links the towns of Portugalete and Las Arenas (part of Getxo) in the Biscay province of Spain, crossing the mouth of the Nervion R ...

was built between

Las Arenas Areeta (''Las Arenas'' in Spanish) is a neighbourhood of Getxo (Biscay, Basque Country, Spain). It is an affluent residential area that was built over the sands of a beach where the Gobela Creek died into a diffuse delta at the mouth of the Estuary ...

and

Portugalete Portugalete is a town lying to the west of Bilbao in the province of Biscay in the Autonomous Community of Basque Country, northern Spain. The town has 45,766 inhabitants (2019 census) and is part of Bilbao's metropolitan area. It is located a ...

, Spain, in 1893. The design from

Alberto Palacio Alberto de Palacio y Elissague (1856-1939) was a Spanish engineer and architect born in Sare (Northern Basque Country) and grown up in Gordexola.ferries A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water tax ...

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 A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded ...

. The first such bridge built in France, the 1898

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the region of Normandy and the department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe, the population ...

bridge crossing the

Seine ) , mouth_location = Le Havre/ Honfleur , mouth_coordinates = , mouth_elevation = , progression = , river_system = Seine basin , basin_size = , tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle , tributa ...

, was destroyed by the French Army to slow down German troops in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. Transporter bridges were popular in France, where five were erected and another partially completed. Bridges 34

The United Kingdom has four transporter bridges, though

Warrington Transporter Bridge The Warrington Transporter Bridge (or Bank Quay Transporter Bridge) is a structural steel transporter bridge across the River Mersey in Warrington, Cheshire, England. Design It was designed by William Henry Hunter and built by Sir William Arrol ...

is disused and the modern

Royal Victoria Dock Bridge The Royal Victoria Dock Bridge is a signature high-level footbridge crossing the Royal Victoria Dock in the Docklands area of east London designed by London-based architects and designers Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands. The bridge provides a di ...

, 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 The Newport Transporter Bridge ( cy, Pont Gludo Casnewydd) is a transporter bridge that crosses the River Usk in Newport, South East Wales. The bridge is the lowest crossing on the River Usk. It is a Grade I listed structure. It is one of ...

was built in 1906 across the

River Usk The River Usk (; cy, Afon Wysg) rises on the northern slopes of the Black Mountain (''y Mynydd Du''), Wales, in the westernmost part of the Brecon Beacons National Park. Initially forming the boundary between Carmarthenshire and Powys, it ...

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 Ferdinand Joseph Arnodin (9 October 1845 – 24 April 1924) was a French engineer and industrialist born in Sainte-Foy-lès-Lyon, Rhône who died in Châteauneuf-sur-Loire in Loiret. Specialising in cableway transporters, he is regarded as the in ...

design. The Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge opened in 1911 crossing the

River Tees The River Tees (), in Northern England, rises on the eastern slope of Cross Fell in the North Pennines and flows eastwards for to reach the North Sea between Hartlepool and Redcar near Middlesbrough. The modern day history of the river has bee ...

. It was featured in the 2002 series of the popular British TV show ''

Auf Wiedersehen, Pet ''Auf Wiedersehen, Pet'' () is a British comedy-drama television programme about seven British construction workers who leave the United Kingdom to search for employment overseas. In the first series, the men live and work on a building site in ...

''; the programme's plot had the bridge being dismantled and re-erected in Arizona, US. 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 , settlement_type = City , nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior, Wisconsin, Superior), Zenith City , motto = , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top: Downtown Dul ...

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 lift A gondola lift is a means of cable transport and type of aerial lift which is supported and propelled by cables from above. It consists of a loop of steel wire rope that is strung between two stations, sometimes over intermediate ...

s used in mountainous regions. The Sky Ride was part of the 1933–34 Chicago World's Fair ("

Century of Progress A Century of Progress International Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was a world's fair held in the city of Chicago, Illinois, United States, from 1933 to 1934. The fair, registered under the Bureau International des Expositi ...

"). It was taken down after two years, and was the longest bridge of this type ever built at the time. Two historic transporter bridges survive in Germany. The

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually someth ...

Rendsburg Rendsburg ( da, Rendsborg, also ''Rensborg'', nds, Rendsborg, also ''Rensborg'') is a town on the River Eider and the Kiel Canal in the central part of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is the capital of the ''Kreis'' (district) of Rendsburg-Eck ...

, from 1913 is two bridges in one: a

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...

link crosses on the top span, and the suspended ferry carries traffic on the valley floor. The

Osten Transporter Bridge Osten Transporter Bridge is an long transporter bridge over the Oste River in Osten (Oste), Lower Saxony, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most popul ...

at Osten is four years older and was the first transporter bridge in Germany.

List of transporter bridges

Existing bridges

Historic bridges

References

External links