The Newport Transporter Bridge is a crossing of the River Usk in Newport, Wales. It is a Grade I listed structure. Designed by French engineer Ferdinand Arnodin, it was built in 1906 and opened by Godfrey Charles Morgan, 1st Viscount Tredegar on 12 September 1906. The span is an example of the very rare transporter bridge concept, of which only eight exist worldwide. Service has been suspended indefinitely since the end of 2007.
The design was ch...
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The Newport Transporter Bridge is a crossing of the River Usk in Newport, Wales. It is a Grade I listed structure. Designed by French engineer Ferdinand Arnodin, it was built in 1906 and opened by Godfrey Charles Morgan, 1st Viscount Tredegar on 12 September 1906. The span is an example of the very rare transporter bridge concept, of which only eight exist worldwide. Service has been suspended indefinitely since the end of 2007.
The design was chosen because the river banks are very low at the desired crossing point (a few miles south of the city centre) where an ordinary bridge would need a very long approach ramp to attain sufficient height to allow ships to pass under, and a ferry could not be used during low tide at the site.
The height of the towers is 242 feet (74 m) and the height of the horizontal beam above the road is 177 feet (54 m) . The transporter platform or gondola travels the 645 feet (196.6 m) between the towers at ten feet (three metres) per second, powered from...
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