He built on the achievements of his father. Back to timeline. Next - Clifton Suspension Bridge. Bold engineering choices led to this extension of the train line to Anglesey, for the benefit of locals and visitors alike. During reconstruction after the fire the bridge changed dramatically. The tubes were no longer used and the deck was supported by arches spanning between the towers. The original towers remain but have also been altered to suit the new design of the bridge. In , ten years after the fire a road deck opened above the railway on the bridge, which carries the A55 across to Anglesey.
A Youtube video tells the story of the reconstruction, with lots of archival footage. The Conway Bridge is still in its original tubular form and is still in use over years later.
A section of the tubes of the Britannia Bridge can be seen on the Bangor side of the Menai Strait, close to the bridge itself. Share this - Rhanwch hyn:. Skip to content Completed — A Brief History As rail travel became increasing popular in the mid nineteenth century, it was deemed necessary for a rail link across the Menai Strait for the convenience of MPs travelling to and from Ireland. This website uses cookies to improve your experience. You can turn them off with the Reject button.
The bridge consisted of two main spans of ft and two smaller spans at each side of ft, all supported by masonry towers, the tallest being the Britannia Tower at ft.
The two longest tubes were built in sections on the Caernarfon shore, and were floated into position using pontoons then raised onto the towers using a hydraulic jack.
Once in position they were joined inside the tower making a continuous beam of ft — at the time the longest wrought iron span in the world. On the wing walls at the end of each abutment tower, two grand lions, sculpted by John Thomas, kept watch. It has been estimated that this would cost at least as much as the whole dual carriageway across Anglesey. It also may not be feasible because the strait is formed from a geological fault which is still occasionally active.
An alternative is to convert the Britannia Bridge from two to three lanes, with the traffic direction of the centre lane changing at different times of the day.
Update 3, Dec. The three lane solution has become the favourite short-term one, with the Anglesey County Council and the local assembly member Ieuan Wyn Jones campaigning for action by the Welsh Assembly. An initial feasibility study has been carried out and shown that the three lane solution is possible, and further studies are being done as to how it could be implemented.
However the wheels of government are moving very slowly. Update 4, Nov. Besides the three-lane solution, there are two proposals for building a third crossing.
There are also some proposals for widening the existing bridge, but these would entail demolishing the stone towers above the road level. The public consultation document showing the various options can be found here it's in PDF format and requires the Adobe Reade r program.
Update 5, August - The public consultation about the traffic improvements has attracted over public responses. You can read about it here and here. Update 6, February - The Britannia Bridge is currently undergoing structural repairs of the metal work and stone piers. This BBC Wales TV report describes the repairs and shows some rarely seen scenes of the underside of the bridge and the inside of the stone structures called "The Cathedral". Update 7, February - Several years after the public consultation the Welsh Government have now said that they will be appointing consultants to further develop the proposals for a new bridge across the Menai Strait.
Funding still needs to be found to do anything. Update 8, July - Another year, another period of horrendous traffic on the bridges due to roadworks, and another promise that the government is "is looking at the possibilities" of improving the situation.
Our AM Rhun ap Iorwerth raised the situation in the Welsh Assembly after several days of traffic snarls on the Anglesey side because of closed lanes and slip roads on the A There were assurances from Transport Minister Edwina Hart that the three-lane "tidal flow" solution is under consideration but needs more risk-assessment.
Read about it in the Daily Post. Update 9, December - Over the past year the Welsh Government has been raising the priority of a third Menai crossing, saying that construction could begin by , and appointing a firm from Ruthin to come up with design options. This month they released a consultation document with four different options for placement of the crossing, and four different bridge design options. You can go to the Welsh Government web site to learn about the consultation process and view the consultation document.
Update 10, October - The results of the consultation have been published, and based on the feedback, the Welsh Government have said they favour the Purple route the one half way between the Britannia Bridge and Ynys Gorad Goch , with a four lane bridge. The existing Britannia Bridge would then be used for pedestrians and cyclists, as well as low speed local traffic.
The majority of those surveyed favoured a balanced cantilever bridge, with a low profile, rather than ones with tall towers and cables, so as to not tower over the existing bridges. You can read a BBC News report about it, as well as the full results document. Construction could start by Update 11, August - Civil engineer Benji Poulton has come up with an interesting design idea for a third Menai Crossing, Pont Bendigeidfran, a bridge held up by a statue of the Welsh mythical king and giant Bendigeidfran.
You can see a video about the idea on YouTube or see a shorter version here. Update 12, June - With no noticeable progress on the new crossing after three years and eight months, and after Brexit and a global pandemic, it was announced that all new road building projects in Wales would be paused , pending review, including the third Menai Crossing. This was trailed as being a switch to investing in public transport and maintaining existing routes.
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