Selby Canal Swing Bridge - Selby, UK
Posted by: 
dtrebilc
N 53° 46.856 W 001° 03.559
30U E 627870 N 5960896
This modern steel swing bridge over the Selby Canal was erected in 1977 to replace a wooden structure from when the canal fist opened in 1778.
Waymark Code: WMPHB7
Location: Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 09/01/2015
Views: 1
"The canal is an 8.7km short cut for water-borne traffic from the River Aire at Haddesley to the River Ouse at Selby. It was built by the Aire & Calder Navigation Company as part of their waterway system, under the direction of the company’s engineer William Jessop (1745-1814), and opened on 29th April 1778.
Jessop’s bridge had a timber superstructure 12.2m long and 2.7m wide, with masonry retaining wall abutments. The span was swung open by two iron windlasses.
The bridge’s superstructure was replaced (1977) by a composite deck of longitudinal steel beams topped by transverse timber beams. The single carriageway road is surfaced with five-ply decking and an anti-skid coating. The cost was about £45,000. The original masonry abutments were retained, though the swing span now operates electrically.
The bridge was subject to a 5 tonne weight restriction when it opened but it has now been reduced to 3 tonnes."
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