Mersey Gateway Bridge facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Mersey Gateway Bridge |
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The Mersey Gateway, with the older Silver Jubilee Bridge in the distance
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| Coordinates | 53°21′10″N 2°42′47″W / 53.3528°N 2.713°W |
| Carries |  A533 |
| Crosses | River Mersey |
| Locale | Halton |
| Maintained by | Halton Borough Council |
| Followed by | Silver Jubilee Bridge |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Cable-stayed |
| Trough construction | Concrete and steel |
| Pier construction | Concrete |
| Total length | 2.2 km (1.4 miles) |
| Width | 30 metres (98 ft) |
| Height | 125 metres (410 ft) |
| Longest span | 318 metres (1,043 ft) |
| Number of spans | 4 |
| Piers in water | 3 |
| Load limit | 53,000+ tonnes |
| Clearance below | 25 metres (82 ft) |
| History | |
| Architect | Knight Architects |
| Engineering design by | COWI & FHECOR |
| Constructed by | Merseylink CCJV – Kier Infrastructure and Overseas FCC Construccion Samsung C&T ECUK Consortium |
| Construction begin | May 2014 |
| Construction end | October 2017 |
| Construction cost | £600 million |
| Opened | 14 October 2017 |
| Inaugurated | 14 June 2018 |
| Replaces | Silver Jubilee Bridge (closed to vehicles for reconfiguration remains open for pedestrian and cycle access) |
| Statistics | |
| Toll | £2 cars/small vehicles (£1.80 for those who have registered) up to £8 HGVs |
The Mersey Gateway Bridge is a toll bridge between Runcorn and Widnes in Cheshire, England which spans the River Mersey and the Manchester Ship Canal. The crossing, which opened in October 2017, has three traffic lanes in each direction and is approximately 1.5 km (1 mile) east (upstream) of the older Silver Jubilee Bridge. It forms part of a wider project to upgrade the infrastructure around the Mersey crossings that includes major civil engineering work to realign the road network, change and add tolling to the Silver Jubilee Bridge, and build new interchanges together with landscaping 9 km (6 miles) of highway.
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History prior to construction
When the first road bridge between Runcorn and Widnes opened in 1961 (renamed the Silver Jubilee Bridge in 1977), it replaced the Widnes–Runcorn Transporter Bridge, a 19th-century steam-powered cable-truss transporter that carried four cars in 2½ minutes across the Mersey. The replacement crossing was designed to carry 8,000 vehicles per day; however, 50 years later more than 80,000 vehicles were using the through arch bridge and surrounding road network daily, ten times its expected capacity. A new crossing was therefore deemed both vital and necessary by Halton Borough Council. Moreover, it believed "better connectivity, more consistent journey times and improved accessibility, combined with a much improved physical urban environment would make Halton a better place to live and work, and [..] invest".
In 2001 Ramboll was appointed the lead technical consultant on the project. It worked as part of a technical advisor team composed of CH2M, Ramboll, IBI and Knight Architects, to support the Mersey Gateway Crossings Board with the technical and contractual administration of the project and to help it fulfil its contractual obligations.
In June 2010, the project was put on hold awaiting the outcome of the Treasury's Spending Review. In October 2010 it was confirmed by Chancellor George Osborne that the £431m plan would go ahead. As part of the 2014 Budget, Osborne announced a £270m guarantee for the project.
Design and construction
After extensive site preparation, construction work began on 7 May 2014 and the bridge opened to traffic just after midnight on 14 October 2017.
The bridge has three towers that support a cable-stayed crossing over the river, while the southern approach creates a second bridge over the Ship Canal. The three towers are different heights: an 80 m (260 ft) central pylon, a 110 m (360 ft) pylon on the north side and a 125 m (410 ft) south pylon.
The total cable stayed span is 998 metres (3,274 ft), made up of two main spans of 318 metres (1,043 ft) and 294 metres (965 ft), and two side spans of 205 metres (673 ft) and 181 metres (594 ft). The crossing's total length, including approach viaducts, is 2.3 km (1.4 miles). The deck is made from reinforced concrete with a maximum clearance of 23 m (75 ft) above the river. As the water depth was too low at this point for marine construction vessels, a 1.5 km (1-mile) trestle was built out into the Mersey to drive in the bridge's pilings.
New roads were built to connect the bridge to the highway network. An interchange and a junction were built to join the southern end to Runcorn's existing Central Expressway. On the northern side, the old route of the A563 was demolished and replaced with a dual carriageway to Speke Road. Embankments on the Widnes side were constructed from decontaminated material excavated along the route from former industrial brownfield sites: treating and reusing the material meant that it did not need to be removed from the construction zone. The new crossing was expected to improve journey times by up to 10 minutes during peak times compared to the old bridge.
A 28.5 ha (70-acre) nature reserve was established around the bridge and the surrounding riverside, managed by the Mersey Gateway Environmental Trust, an independent charity tasked with promoting biodiversity, landscape, science, and educational opportunities. This scheme, which will help conserve important ecological sites such as the Astmoor salt marshes, is part of the 1,600 ha (4,000-acre) Upper Mersey Estuary project that covers everything upstream of the Mersey Gateway Bridge as far as Warrington.
Tolls and charges
As of March 2020[update] the fee for an unregistered car to cross the Mersey Gateway is £2; for a van or small lorry the single charge is £6 and for a larger lorry or bus £8. Local buses (during the closure of the Silver Jubilee Bridge) and motorcycles are exempt from the tolls. There are no toll booths for payment at the bridge. The toll must be paid to Merseyflow online or via telephone before midnight on the day following the crossing, or a penalty charge will be issued. Users can register online for a prepayment account negating the need to pay tolls individually: this also gives a 10% discount on the toll. Halton residents can pay an annual £10 administration fee and make unlimited personal trips at no further cost. The Merseyflow scheme is operated by emovis Operations Mersey Ltd. on behalf of Halton Borough Council.
Halton Borough Council has stated that the Silver Jubilee bridge – although previously free to use – will require a toll like the Mersey Gateway bridge on completion of the scheme. The old bridge will be reduced to one lane in each direction for vehicles and the remaining carriageways converted to a pedestrian/cycleway. The local authority said the cost of the bridge is expected to be paid off in 25 years, at which point a review on tolls would be conducted. Chris Grayling, the UK's Transport Minister in 2017, said that he expected that once "the bridge is paid for, the tolls go".
Penalty charges
The toll must be paid before midnight the following day or a penalty charge is issued. The penalty charge for an unpaid crossing is £20 plus the unpaid toll. Unpaid penalty charges are registered as a civil debt, recovery action begins and enforcement agents may be instructed. In December 2018, 15 months after opening, the one millionth penalty charge was issued.
Vehicle breakdown charges
If a vehicle has a breakdown whilst on the bridge, recovery is only permitted by a designated authorised company. No roadside repairs, refuelling or tyre changing are permitted unless by special permission. The recovered vehicle will be taken to an appropriate place where it will be impounded until the recovery and storage fees are paid. Fees are a minimum of £150 plus VAT for a small vehicle.
Mersey Gateway Project
The construction of the bridge has led to wider infrastructure changes. The Silver Jubilee Bridge was closed upon the Gateway's opening and was re-opened in February 2021 after repair and conversion into a toll bridge, also having improved access for pedestrians and cyclists.
M56 Junction 11a
In conjunction with the Mersey Gateway Project, proposals have been made to create a new junction on the M56. The aim is to improve the new bridge's connectivity in the Runcorn area, to help tackle current and future congestion, and to relieve the pressure at Junction 12. In September 2017, Highways England announced that the new junction would be located next to Murdishaw roundabout, where the A533 crosses over the M56. Work was expected to begin on Junction 11a in March 2020, but in May 2020 Highways England scrapped the entire project stating it would not be value for money.
Runcorn Station Quarter
The Silver Jubilee Bridge, when re-opened, will be delinked from the ring road preventing passage to Liverpool from the A533. Halton Council has plans to redevelop Runcorn railway station to promote railway journeys between Runcorn and Liverpool. A new "Station Quarter" with retail and leisure opportunities is envisioned on the land reclaimed from the road closure.
