Carries Railway Maintained by Network Rail Design Truss bridge Total length 351 m | Crosses River Tyne Heritage status Grade II listed Opened 10 July 1906 Location NewcastleGateshead | |
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Locale Newcastle-Gateshead, England Address Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 3TQ, UK Hours Open today · Open 24 hoursTuesdayOpen 24 hoursWednesdayOpen 24 hoursThursdayOpen 24 hoursFridayOpen 24 hoursSaturdayOpen 24 hoursSundayOpen 24 hoursMondayOpen 24 hours Similar River Tyne, Redheugh Bridge, High Level Bridge, Scotswood Railway Bridge, Blaydon Bridge | ||
60009 union of south africa crosses the king edward vii bridge 18 05 09
The King Edward VII Bridge is a railway bridge spanning the River Tyne between Newcastle upon Tyne and Gateshead, in North East England. It is a Grade II listed structure.
Contents
The king edward vii bridge
History
The bridge was designed and engineered by Charles A. Harrison, the Chief Civil Engineer of the North Eastern Railway, and built by the Cleveland Bridge & Engineering Company in Darlington. The bridge consists of four lattice steel spans resting on concrete piers. The total length of the bridge is 1,150 feet (350 m) and 112 ft (34 m) above high water mark.
Originally trains used the High Level Bridge to reach Newcastle Central Station and had to leave the station in the same direction they entered, which involved the tedious task of reversing. The construction of the King Edward VII Bridge provided four more rail tracks and a direct line through the station, enabling trains to enter or leave from either side, thus easing rail congestion.
The bridge was opened by King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra on 10 July 1906 despite being still unfinished at this time. General traffic began using the bridge on 1 October 1906. The total cost was over £500,000.