Media City Footbridge
Encyclopedia
The Media City Footbridge is a swing-mechanism footbridge over the Manchester Ship Canal
near MediaCityUK. It is an assymetric cable-stayed
swing bridge
.
. It is similar in position to the Gateshead Millennium Bridge
's proximity to Gateshead's The Sage Gateshead, the main arts venue for North East England
. Both were designed by Wilkinson Eyre, and Gifford, and both have eye-catching unusual features. The Gateshead bridge is a more daring design.
The bridge links MediaCityUK with Trafford Wharf. It weighs 450 tonnes, and has two spans of 65 metres and 18 metres. It swings through 71 degrees to give a 48 metre navigation channel. The deck of the bridge is an orthotropic steel box
. The bridge is supported by eight tapered steel fanned masts.
The swing mechanism is built on a reinforced concrete caisson foundation of 13 metres diameter. Above the water it is 7.3 metres in diameter.
Manchester Ship Canal
The Manchester Ship Canal is a river navigation 36 miles long in the North West of England. Starting at the Mersey Estuary near Liverpool, it generally follows the original routes of the rivers Mersey and Irwell through the historic counties of Cheshire and Lancashire. Several sets of locks lift...
near MediaCityUK. It is an assymetric cable-stayed
Cable-stayed bridge
A cable-stayed bridge is a bridge that consists of one or more columns , with cables supporting the bridge deck....
swing bridge
Swing bridge
A swing bridge is a movable bridge that has as its primary structural support a vertical locating pin and support ring, usually at or near to its centre of gravity, about which the turning span can then pivot horizontally as shown in the animated illustration to the right...
.
Design
It was designed by Gifford and Wilkinson EyreWilkinson Eyre
Wilkinson Eyre Architects is an international architecture firm based in London, England. The firm won the Royal Institute of British Architects Stirling Prize two years in a row...
. It is similar in position to the Gateshead Millennium Bridge
Gateshead Millennium Bridge
The Gateshead Millennium Bridge is a pedestrian and cyclist tilt bridge spanning the River Tyne in England between Gateshead's Quays arts quarter on the south bank, and the Quayside of Newcastle upon Tyne on the north bank. The award-winning structure was conceived and designed by architects...
's proximity to Gateshead's The Sage Gateshead, the main arts venue for North East England
North East England
North East England is one of the nine official regions of England. It covers Northumberland, County Durham, Tyne and Wear, and Teesside . The only cities in the region are Durham, Newcastle upon Tyne and Sunderland...
. Both were designed by Wilkinson Eyre, and Gifford, and both have eye-catching unusual features. The Gateshead bridge is a more daring design.
The bridge links MediaCityUK with Trafford Wharf. It weighs 450 tonnes, and has two spans of 65 metres and 18 metres. It swings through 71 degrees to give a 48 metre navigation channel. The deck of the bridge is an orthotropic steel box
Orthotropic deck
An orthotropic bridge or orthotropic deck is one whose deck typically comprises a structural steel deck plate stiffened either longitudinally or transversely, or in both directions. This allows the deck both to directly bear vehicular loads and to contribute to the bridge structure's overall...
. The bridge is supported by eight tapered steel fanned masts.
Construction
It was built by Balfour Beatty, with the steel fabrication by Rowecord Engineering of Newport, south Wales.The swing mechanism is built on a reinforced concrete caisson foundation of 13 metres diameter. Above the water it is 7.3 metres in diameter.