Constantius Bridge

Constantius Bridge
Constantius Bridge
Coordinates	54.9841°N 2.1245°W / 54.9841; -2.1245
OS grid reference	NY921654
Carries	A69
Crosses	River Tyne
Locale	Northumberland
Other name(s)	Hexham A69 Bridge
Named for	Constantius I
Owner	Department for Transport
Maintained by	National Highways
Preceded by	River North Tyne Chollerford Bridge River South Tyne Warden Railway Bridge
Followed by	Hexham Bridge
Characteristics
Design	Beam bridge
Material	Concrete
No. of spans	3
Piers in water	2
No. of lanes	4
History
Construction end	1976
Opened	1976 (1976)
Location

Constantius Bridge is a modern concrete bridge across the River Tyne about 1 mile (2 km) north west of Hexham, Northumberland, England. The bridge carries the A69 road over the River Tyne and forms part of the Hexham bypass. It is the last crossing of the River Tyne before it splits into the North Tyne and South Tyne.

History

In 1976 a new road was built to replace the old A69 through Hexham, and Hexham was by-passed on the north side of the river, necessitating a bridge crossing near Warden just west of Hexham. The bridge crosses the River Tyne just downstream from the "Meeting of the Waters" – the point where the North and South Tyne rivers join to form the main River Tyne, then crosses the railway to continue towards Haydon Bridge.

On 30 August 1975, during construction, there was a flood, and the scaffolding and shuttering for the westernmost span collapsed. The completed bridge has already required strengthening due to flood damage, showing that the Tyne has lost none of its capability for attacking bridge structures.