Preston Pipe Bridge

Preston Pipe Bridge
County Durham, Yorkshire
Preston Pipe Bridge over the River Tees
Location
Carrying:	Water supply pipes
Crossing:	River Tees
Location
Grid reference:	NZ43881558
Location:	54°32’1"N, 1°19’24"W
Structure
Length:	210 feet
Design:	Tied arch
Material:	Concrete and steel
History
	Built 1959
Information
Owned by:	Northumbrian Water

The Preston Pipe Bridge is a remarkable pipe bridge which carries three water pipes across the River Tees between the North Riding of Yorkshire and County Durham, by Ingleby Barwick in Yorkshire and Preston-on-Tees in Durham. The bridge is found three and a half miles upriver from Stockton-on-Tees town centre, and about 200 yards upriver of the Jubilee Bridge. There is strictly no public access across the bridge.

Design and operation

Preston Pipe Bridge is a single span of 210 feet built as a tied-arch bridge with concrete abutments. It supplies water to southern Teesside.

The bridge was built in 1959 by constructor Dowsett to carry two water pipes, each of 33-inch diameter, across the Tees. The bridge arch, weighing 200 tons, was assembled on the Durham bank from prefabricated parts and rolled out across the river on a temporary Bailey bridge, then moved sideways onto its pre-prepared concrete abutments.

A third pipe was added in 1979. The additional third pipe allowed for the removal a nearby single pipe bridge.

Outside links

• Preston Pipe Bridge at Structurae