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Byker Bridge

Bridges in Tyne and WearBuildings and structures in Newcastle upon Tyne
Ouseburn Farm and the bridges geograph.org.uk 1777725
Ouseburn Farm and the bridges geograph.org.uk 1777725

The Byker Bridge is a 1,130.7 ft (344.65 m) long road bridge that carries the A193 road over the River Ouseburn in Newcastle upon Tyne. It carries traffic from the city centre and Central Motorway in the west, to the area of Byker to the east, over the lower Ouseburn valley, with the river emptying into the north side of the River Tyne, to the south. The Bridge was opened to pedestrians on 19 October 1878, and then to carts and carriages on 27 January 1879. There was originally a half penny toll, which was withdrawn on 12 April 1895. Originally 30.0 ft (9.15 m) wide, the bridge was widened to 50.0 ft (15.25 m) in 1899, by the addition of footpaths cantilevered out from the edge of the brickwork. The deck of the bridge was rebuilt during 1985/6 with the addition of pre-stressed concrete beams on cantilevers to support both footways and new crash barriers.It is one of three high level bridges in close proximity making the same crossing, with the Byker Metro Bridge and then the Ouseburn railway viaduct both to the north (the S shaped Metro bridge crosses over the road bridge at its eastern end).

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Byker Bridge (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Byker Bridge
Byker Bridge, Newcastle upon Tyne Battle Field

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N 54.975625 ° E -1.592427 °
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Ouseburn Bandstand

Byker Bridge
NE1 2PZ Newcastle upon Tyne, Battle Field
England, United Kingdom
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ouseburntrust.org.uk

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Ouseburn Farm and the bridges geograph.org.uk 1777725
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Byker Viaduct
Byker Viaduct

The Byker Viaduct (also known as the Byker Metro Bridge) is a 2,674 ft (815 m) curved 'S' shaped light railway bridge, which carries the Tyne and Wear Metro over the River Ouseburn in Newcastle upon Tyne. It carries the line from Manors Metro station in the city centre to the west, to Byker Metro station in the area of Byker to the east, over the lower Ouseburn valley, with the river emptying into the north side of the River Tyne, to the south. Designed by Ove Arup and Partners, and built by Mowlem, construction began in 1976 and was completed in 1979, it was opened on 11 November 1982 as part of the St James to Tynemouth section of the Metro. It is 27 ft (8.2 m) wide, and carries standard gauge double tracks up to 30m above the ground, with 18 spans up to 226 ft (69 m) long; six of the spans are over the river valley, with the remainder continuing on the east side of the valley as a lower elevated section. It was notable, in being the first such structure in Britain to be built using cantilevered concrete sections with joints glued with epoxy resin.It was one of two major bridges built specifically for the Tyne and Wear Metro, the other being the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge crossing the River Tyne.It is one of three high level bridges in close proximity making the same crossing, with the Ouseburn railway viaduct to the north and the Byker road bridge to the south. The bridge and elevated section form an S-curve, which takes the track over the Byker road bridge at its east end.

Ouseburn
Ouseburn

The Ouseburn is a small river in Newcastle upon Tyne, England that flows through the city of Newcastle upon Tyne into the River Tyne. It gives its name to the Ouseburn Valley and the Ouseburn electoral ward for Newcastle City Council elections. The Ouseburn has its source at Callerton in the north of the city near Newcastle Airport. It then flows through the Kingston Park area of the city, Newcastle Great Park, Gosforth Park and Whitebridge Park. The Ouseburn then continues through Paddy Freeman's Park in South Gosforth and into Jesmond Dene, Armstrong Park and Heaton Park, where it marks the boundary between Heaton and Sandyford. The river then flows through a culvert before re-emerging under Ouseburn railway viaduct, whence it flows past the City Farm, Seven Stories and the Toffee Factory and meets the River Tyne. The river was previously tidal from the Viaduct, revealing dark mud at low tide. However, since 2009 a tidal barrage at the river mouth retains high water in the Ouseburn at low tide, with the objective of providing a more pleasant environment alongside its banks at low tide, thus promoting development. Despite the expense of its construction, the Ouseburn barrage has had operational problems and was left open for a length of time while they were corrected.The lower Ouseburn Valley, whilst heavily industrialised in the past, serves as of 2013 as a hub for the arts and creative industries, and has a lively pub scene, noted for live music and real ale. In Roman times the lower Ouseburn Valley was crossed by Hadrian's Wall, but there are now no visible traces to be seen. On the eastern side of the valley, at the eastern end of a new block of flats, there is an information board with an artist's impression of the Wall crossing the valley. This section of the Wall was the later extension from the Roman fort of Pons Aelius (Newcastle) to that of Segedunum (Wallsend). This newer section of the Wall was not backed by the Vallum ditch, because the River Tyne rendered it superfluous.