Forge Lane Bridge - Etruria, UK
Posted by: dtrebilc
N 53° 01.714 W 002° 11.967
30U E 553689 N 5875748
This single span cathedral arch bridge carries Forge Lane over the Trent and Mersey Canal.
Waymark Code: WMZXE1
Location: West Midlands, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 01/18/2019
Views: 3
"As its name implies, the Trent and Mersey canal (T & M) was built to link the River Trent at Derwent Mouth (in Derbyshire) to the River Mersey. The second connection is made via the Bridgewater Canal, which it joins at Preston Brook in Cheshire. Note that although mileposts measure the distance to Preston Brook and Shardlow, Derwent Mouth is a mile or so beyond Shardlow.
The plan of a canal connection from the Mersey to the Trent ("The Grand Trunk") came from canal engineer James Brindley. It was authorised by an Act of Parliament in 1766 and the first sod was cut by Josiah Wedgwood in July that year at Brownhills, Burslem. In 1777, the canal was completed, including more than 70 locks and five tunnels, with the company headquarters in Stone."
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The bridge has 6 blue painted beams acting as the arch supporting the concrete road deck above the canal.
It is in a regeneration area where heavy industry largely associated with the pottery industry had died out. The bridge is part of an improved road scheme for the regeneration.