Teesquay Millennium Footbridge is a footbridge crossing east-west over the River Tees between Stockton high street and Thornaby (Teesdale Business Park) in Northern England. It is just east of Stockton town centre and in the town's namesake borough.[1][2][3]
Teesquay Millennium Footbridge | |
|---|---|
 Teesquay Millennium Footbridge | |
| Coordinates | 54°33′44.5″N 1°18′35.2″W / 54.562361°N 1.309778°W |
| Carries | Pedestrians |
| Crosses | Teesdale Way, River Tees, Riverside Road |
| Locale | Stockton-on-Tees, England |
| Official name | Teesquay Millennium Footbridge |
| Preceded by | Victoria Bridge |
| Followed by | Princess of Wales Bridge |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Cable-stayed bridge |
| Material | Steel and concrete |
| Width | 2.7 metres (9 ft) |
| No. of spans | 4 |
| Piers in water | 1 |
| History | |
| Architect | Yee Associates |
| Designer | Ove Arup |
| Constructed by | Birse Construction |
| Construction end | December 2000 |
| Inaugurated | 20 December 2000 |
| Location | |
 | |
The bridge crosses the Teesdale Way cycle route, River Tees, and the A1035 Riverside Road. Funding for the bridge was from Stockton-on-Tees Council, the European Regional Development Fund, One NorthEast, and English Partnerships.[2]
Teesquay Millennium Footbridge is also referred to as the Millennium Bridge.
Design
editStockton Borough Council provided a brief for a 'design and build' competition to construct a pedestrian bridge across the River Tees.[4] The 'design and build' competition was won by a team comprising Ove Arup and Birse Construction.[4] Their entry was the only one to satisfy the local council's strictly limited budget.[4]
The bridge has a cable-stayed design[1][5] with architecture by Yee Associates[5] and designed by Ove Arup[1] whereas the identification signage on the bridge states that it was designed by the constructor, Birse Construction. It has a 40-metre (131 ft) 'A' frame pylon/mast with fanned cables[1][2][3][6] and has a total span of 153 m (502 ft).[7] The walkway is 2.7 m (9 ft) wide narrowing to 2 m (7 ft) on the extension over Riverside Road to the Castlegate Centre.[8]
Construction
editThe bridge was fabricated in Spain,[9] constructed on site by Birse Construction North East[1][2][5][6] and completed in December 2000[1][5] at a cost of £1.4m.[6]
Operation
editThe bridge was opened on 20 December 2000[1][9][10] by Dari Taylor, Member of Parliament for Stockton South, and the mayor of Stockton-on-Tees.[9] The Teesgate Millennium Footbridge was one of the few number of millennium footbridges to be actually completed in the millennium year, but unlike some high-profile millennium footbridges it was not funded by the Millennium Commission.[4]
The bridge has been criticised for both wobbling[11][12] and being too narrow to accommodate cyclists who are required to dismount and are barred from entering the Castlegate Centre in any case.
Castlegate Quay
editUp-river on Castlegate Quay by the western side of the bridge there is the Castlegate Quay Watersports Centre.
Photo gallery
edit-
A rower under the Teesquay Millennium Bridge -
View along the deck towards Teesdale Business Park -
View from the steel steps on the Castlegate Quay side -
Information board on the bridge pylon
See also
edit- Other Millennium Bridges.
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g "Teesquay Millennium Bridge". Bridges on the Tyne. Retrieved 22 August 2009.
- ^ a b c d Kenyon, Chris (March 2002). "A Trip up the Tees". Tees Rowing Club. Archived from the original on 12 April 2009. Retrieved 22 August 2009.
- ^ a b Vigur, Brian. "The "Steel River"". Retrieved 22 August 2009.[dead link]
- ^ a b c d "Newsletter April 01" (PDF). Institution of Civil Engineers – North East. April 2001. Retrieved 19 October 2009. [dead link]
- ^ a b c d Janberg, Nicolas. "Teesquay Millennium Bridge (2000)". Structurae. Retrieved 22 August 2009.
- ^ a b c "Bridge A-Team". Construction News. 14 December 2000. Retrieved 22 August 2009.
- ^ Infinity Bridge Information Board – The 8 Bridges Route, June 2009, retrieved 20 September 2013 – via WikiMedia Commons
- ^ "Teesside and Sedgefield". Lune Millennium Bridge. Archived from the original on 15 May 2008. Retrieved 22 August 2009.
- ^ a b c Smailes, Stephen (Councillor) (3 January 2001). "News, Sport, Business, Leisure from the North East and North Yorkshire – Letters". The Northern Echo. Retrieved 19 October 2009.[dead link]
- ^ "The Bridges of Middlesbrough – Walks". The AA. Retrieved 22 August 2009.
- ^ "About Stockton Town Centre". Stockton Towntalk. Archived from the original on 16 October 2009. Retrieved 22 August 2009.
- ^ "Milewood Healthcare – Oxbridge House". Milewood Healthcare. Archived from the original on 25 December 2009. Retrieved 22 August 2009.
