Many of the UK’s great cities are characterised by great bridges. London has Tower Bridge, Bristol has the Clifton Suspension Bridge, Hull has the Humber.
But perhaps the greatest bridge city in the UK is Newcastle. The hardy old city in the north-east of England is split by the River Tyne and locals and visitors alike cross that river via some of the country’s most iconic bridges.
The Tyne Bridge is perhaps the best-known of all of Newcastle’s bridges, but the Gateshead Millennium Bridge is surely the most eye-catching.
The curved bridge was officially opened in 2001 after construction work began in 1999.
The project began after in 1996, Gateshead Council launched a competition to design a bridge that would complement the city’s six existing bridges.
After a staggering number of entries – more than 150 in fact – the design by Wilkinson Eyre Architects and Gifford & Partners was given the go-ahead in February 1997.
The bridge cost £22million to construct and became the first tilting bridge in the world. The walkway tilts 40 degrees to allow river traffic to pass underneath and then lowers again to allow foot traffic to cross.
Locals know when they can and can’t cross the bridge, as there are specially designated times for them to do so.
Those times are listed on the Gateshead Council website so crossers can cross and river traffic can pass underneath seamlessly.
Despite opening to the public on September 17, 2001, the Queen officially opened the bridge on May 7, 2002.
Due to its stunning design, the Bridge is colloquially referred to as ‘The Blinking Eye Bridge’.