City Bridge http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/557828 is a crossing of the River Usk

River Usk

The River Usk rises on the northern slopes of the Black Mountain of mid-Wales, in the easternmost part of the Brecon Beacons National Park. Initially it flows north into Usk Reservoir, then east by Sennybridge to Brecon before turning southeast to flow by Talybont-on-Usk, Crickhowell and...

 in the city of Newport

Newport

Newport is a city and unitary authority area in Wales. Standing on the banks of the River Usk, it is located about east of Cardiff and is the largest urban area within the historic county boundaries of Monmouthshire and the preserved county of Gwent...

, South Wales

South Wales

South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...

. It was opened in 2004 as part of the construction/re-generation of the Southern Distributor Road

Southern Distributor Road

The Southern Distributor Road is a principal distributor road in Newport that runs from the Coldra roundabout in the east of Newport to Tredegar Park M4 Junction 28) in the west of Newport and includes City Bridge, a bow-string arch bridge spanning the River Usk...

/A48

A48 road

The A48 is a major trunk road in Great Britain. It runs from the A40 at Highnam west of Gloucester to the A40 at Carmarthen. Before the construction of the M4 motorway and the first Severn Bridge in the mid 1960s it was the principal route into South Wales. For most of its journey through Wales,...

 in Newport.

The bridge is the penultimate crossing of the River Usk, lying north of the lowest crossing which is Newport Transporter Bridge

Newport Transporter Bridge

The Newport Transporter Bridge is a transporter bridge that crosses the River Usk in Newport, South Wales. It is a Grade I listed structure. Designed by French engineer Ferdinand Arnodin, it was built in 1906 and opened by Godfrey Charles Morgan, 1st Viscount Tredegar on 12 September 1906...

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Design

The bridge is a bow-string arch

Tied arch bridge

A tied-arch bridge is an arch bridge in which the outward-directed horizontal forces of the arch, or top chord, are borne as tension by the bottom chord , rather than by the ground or the bridge foundations...

 design, 650 ft (200 m) long and forms part of the city's Southern Distributor Road (SDR). On completion of the SDR, the A48 road

A48 road

The A48 is a major trunk road in Great Britain. It runs from the A40 at Highnam west of Gloucester to the A40 at Carmarthen. Before the construction of the M4 motorway and the first Severn Bridge in the mid 1960s it was the principal route into South Wales. For most of its journey through Wales,...

 was diverted over the new bridge, making it the preferred route for through traffic.

Between the two top chord pillars the west-bound carriageway of the bridge bears a large emblem of the Arms of Newport City Council

Newport City Council

Newport City Council is the governing body for the city of Newport, one of the subdivisions of Wales within the United Kingdom. It consists of 50 councillors, representing the city's 20 wards. Since the 2008 election, the council has been controlled jointly by the Conservatives and Liberal...

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Recognition

In 2005 the bridge was recognised by The Structural Steel Design Awards. The judges said of the bridge: "The Usk crossing symbolises the best in British bridge engineering. It combines an elegant design, high quality fabrication and innovative construction. Newport has gained not only another much-needed river crossing, but has gained an elegant steel structure in the process." http://www.newport.gov.uk/_dc/index.cfm?fuseaction=news.pressrelease&contentid=N_082913

See also

• List of bridges in Wales‎