Ovingham Bridge

Ovingham Bridge
Ovingham Bridge Official name Ovingham Bridge Carries Road Crosses River Tyne Locale Northumberland, England Design Beam supported by steel pylons Total length 150 m (490 ft) Construction begin 1883 Construction end 1883 Opened 20 December 1883
Ovingham Bridge  Ovingham Bridge shown within Northumberland
OS grid reference	NZ086636
List of places: UK • England • Northumberland

Ovingham Bridge is a bridge across the River Tyne at Ovingham, Northumberland, England.

History

It was built in 1883 by the Ovingham Bridge Company and replaced the earlier ferry. The steel tubes are marked Dorman Long Middlesbrough, the firm that designed and built the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Tyne Bridge. It was originally opened and operated as a toll bridge until 1945.

The toll house has long since been demolished. It was located on the downsream side at the South end of the bridge (See Picture 97, 'The story of Ovingham on Tyne' ISBN0 953 5730 1 X).

In 1974 a footbridge was erected alongside, immediately downstream of the main bridge. Recently both bridges have undergone a strengthening programme after the January floods of 2005. Gabions have been installed around the base of the pilings to prevent scour and river channel has been dredged to direct the main flow away from the piers. As the original piling depths are not recorded, brackets have been welded to the pilings and seismic pulse testing performed.

External links

• Ovingham toll bridge

Next bridge upstream	River Tyne	Next bridge downstream
Bywell Bridge	Ovingham Bridges Grid reference: NZ086636	Wylam Railway Bridge (disused rail, now foot and bicycle)
Next road crossing upstream	River Tyne	Next road crossing downstream
Bywell Bridge	Ovingham Bridge Grid reference: NZ086636	Wylam Bridge