Bridge 58a On The Rochdale Canal – Rochdale, UK - Moving Bridges on Waymarking.com

The Canal History
The Rochdale Canal was completed in 1804 and is one of three canals that cross the Pennine hills. This is the only one that doesn’t use long tunnels. In addition it was a broad canal with bridges and locks that allowed boats of 14 feet width to pass through.

The one downside of not using tunnels is that it originally had 92 locks. These days the original locks 3 and 4 have been combined into one deep lock.

Competition from railways and roads subsequently led to a decline in goods being carried and by 1937 the only section left in operation was at the Manchester end of the canal.

In 1965 there was talk of abandoning the canal but by this time leisure boating had become very popular in the UK and there was a campaign to keep it open. Work was started and the canal slowly re-opened in a number of different stages. The whole length finally reopened in September 2002.

Details of this bridge
This steel swing bridge is also known as Deepdale swing bridge and the Moveable Bridges of Britain website tells us “The original swing bridge lead to Swingbridge Farm. Following closure of the canal the swing bridge was replaced by low level fixed concrete deck. As part of the programme to re-open the canal the fixed deck was replaced by a manually operated swing bridge”

The bridge is always locked in position across the canal and boat owners carry an anti-vandal key to unlock the bridge when they wish to pass along the canal. It is manually operated with a push arm used to open or close the bridge.

Currently the footpath leading from the bridge is closed whilst a new warehouse is being constructed.

Bridge Type: Swing Bridge Built: 01/01/2004 Pedestrian Traffic: yes Bicycle Traffic: yes Vehicular Traffic: no Railway Traffic: no Span: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
Take a picture of the bridge and record the exact coordinates where the picture was taken.

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