Under the old Severn Bridge at Beachley
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Severnside
N 51° 36.797 W 002° 38.898
30U E 524351 N 5718086
A view of the underside of the First Severn Crossing, now carrying the M48
Waymark Code: WM96KQ
Location: South West England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 07/06/2010
Views: 13
From this historic location, you get superb views of the site of the former Aust Car Ferry,( the only method of crossing the Severn estuary before the completion of the first Severn Bridge), from the old derelict jetty on the English side to the stone-built jetty on the Welsh side. This stone jetty is still in use for the launching of pleasure craft, jet skis etc. and for the RIBs of the Severn Area Rescue Association.
Shortly after the opening of the Severn Bridge, Anglo-Welsh poet Harri Webb wrote an Ode on the Severn Bridge:
Two lands at last connected
Across the waters wide,
And all the tolls collected
On the English side.
The Severn Bridge is located close to the former Aust Ferry. The bridge is a suspension bridge of conventional design, with the deck supported by two main cables slung between two steel towers. In 1966 the cables supporting the bridge deck were spun from 18,000 miles (29,000 km) of wire.
An unusual feature of the suspension cables carrying the deck is that they are not vertical, as for most suspension bridges, but rather arranged in a zig-zag fashion, with adjacent mounts closely spaced. The triangulation this offers is an attempt to reduce vibration, as is the prominent use of Stockbridge dampers on the cables. The bridge is 5,240 ft (1,600 m) long, consisting of a 3,240 ft (988 m) central span between the towers and the two 1,000 ft (305 m) side spans.
The towers rise to 445 ft (136 m) above mean high water and are of hollow box construction. The deck is an orthotropic steel box girder of aerofoil shape with cantilevered cycle tracks and footway supported from the box. The shape of the bridge was determined by the designers Freeman, Fox and Partners following wind tunnel tests for the Forth Road Bridge, after the original wind tunnel model was accidentally destroyed.
The sections of the deck were built at Fairfield-Mabey in Chepstow, and each 132 tonne section was then floated down the river before being hoisted into position. The construction was undertaken by Sir William Arrol & Co. and completed in 1966.
Date Completed: 08/09/1966
Usage: Automobile
Length: 1600 metres
WWW: [Web Link]
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Visit Instructions:
Log your find with the picture of the bridge that you like. No gpsr required in the photo...different seasons and lighting for the pictures is what will be the goal.