Gunthorpe Bridge
| Gunthorpe Bridge | |
| Nottinghamshire | |
|---|---|
 Gunthorpe Bridge | |
| Location | |
| Carrying: | A6097 |
| Crossing: | River Trent |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SK68084369 |
| Location: | 52°59’10"N, -0°59’15"W |
| Structure | |
| Main span: | 125 feet |
| History | |
| Built 1927 | |
| Information | |
Gunthorpe Bridge is a bridge over the River Trent at Gunthorpe in Nottinghamshire.
Old and new bridges
Until 1875, the only way to cross the river on this reach was by ferry, or ford. In the 1870s, the Gunthorpe Bridge Company was formed to build an iron bridge, which would be a funded by tolls. Venture capital of £7,500 was raised in £10 shares. The foundation stone was laid in 1873 and the bridge opened in 1875.
The tolls charged were:
- horse and carriage 1/-,
- horse and wagon 6d,
- horse alone 3d,
- people and passengers 1d,
- motorcycles 3d,
- cars 1/-
- lorries 2/6,
The bridge was only able to handle 6 tons of weight and with the advent of commercial vehicular traffic it was determined a modern structure was needed.[1] A private Act of Parliament in 1925 empowered Nottinghamshire's council to buy the owners out, to demolish the bridge and replace it with a new bridge, which is the one standing today.
The current bridge was built in 1927. It is a three span, reinforced concrete arch bridge, standing 450 yards upstream of the old one, with new bypass roads for the Gunthorpe and East Bridgford villages.[2][3] The central arch spans 125 feet and the two side arches span 101 feet. Each of the three arches contains four ribs.[4]
References
- ↑ "Trent Valley Way: Nottingham to Gunthorpe - Midlands Walk". https://hillexplorer.com/trent-valley-way-nottingham-to-gunthorpe/. "Gunthorpe Toll Bridge information board"
- ↑ "Towns and Villages Around Nottingham | Gunthorpe". http://www.visitoruk.com/Nottingham/gunthorpe-C592-V30538.html.
- ↑ "Geograph:: The old Gunthorpe Toll bridge (C) Alan Murray-Rust" (in en). https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/652938.
- ↑ Sprayed concrete technology: Simon A. Austin, American Concrete Institute, Sprayed Concrete Association. 1996