Sheppey Crossing

Infobox_Bridge
bridge_name= Sheppey Crossing


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carries= 4 Lane dual carriageway Road
crosses= The Swale
locale= Isle of Sheppey, Kent, UK
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width= 70 feet
clearance= 114 feet
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open= July 3 2006
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coordinates=coord|51|23|26.20|N|00|44|49.76|E|region:GB_type:landmark_scale:10000The Sheppey Crossing is a four-lane road bridge which crosses The Swale at a height of 35m, linking the Isle of Sheppey with the mainland. It was opened on July 3, 2006 by Minister for Transport, Stephen Ladyman and provides an alternative to the old Kingsferry Bridge for road users.

The need for a new crossing

The existing bridge, which has been in place since 1959, suffered from two major drawbacks. Firstly, it only has one lane in each direction and as traffic to and from the island has increased it has started to become something of a bottleneck cite news|title= Sheppey Crossing opens to traffic|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/kent/5138780.stm |publisher= BBC News | date= 3 July 2006 | accessdate=2006-11-21] . Secondly, the bridge needs to be lifted to allow marine traffic to pass under it. This process often leads to long traffic delays.

It is estimated that 26,000 vehicles a day will use the new crossing

Construction of the Sheppey Crossing

The bridge was designed by Cass Hayward and Capita Symonds, and won the 2006 IStructE Award for Transportation Structures.

It has been built from steel and concrete, with around 10,000 tonnes of British Steel being used. Construction, which was carried out by Carillion [ [http://www.gnn.gov.uk/content/detail.asp?NewsAreaID=2&ReleaseID=211645 New high level bridge boosts jobs] ] under a Private Finance Initiative contract, was made more difficult because many of the bridge's piers had to be built on marshland.

A jacking mechanism was employed to move the sections of roadway into position from each end of the bridge, with the final two sections of deck (piers 7-8 and piers 15-17) lifted into place during November 2005.

The new crossing measures 21.5m in width, and carries the a section on the now-widened A249 road which links the M20 and M2 motorways with Sheerness.

The Sheppey Crossing is not open to pedestrians, cycles or horses, which will continue to use the Kingsferry Bridge for the foreseeable future. The Sittingbourne to Sheerness section of railway will also use the Kingsferry Bridge.

Naming competition

A competition was announced to name the new bridge, won by lifelong Sheppey resident Mr. Reginald Grimwade, who was invited to attend the opening ceremony and to be presented with an award by Dr Ladyman [cite news|title= Local man names new Swale bridge|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/kent/4735250.stm |publisher= BBC News | date= 21 February 2006 | accessdate=2006-11-21] .

ee also

*Kingsferry Bridge

References

External links

* [http://www.highways.gov.uk/roads/projects/3963.aspx Highways Agency photo gallery]
* [http://www.gnn.gov.uk/Content/Detail.asp?ReleaseID=194224&NewsAreaID=2 Highways Agency article on the opening ceremony]