34-600: The Itchen Bridge is a bridge over the River Itchen in Southampton , Hampshire. It is a high-level hollow box girder bridge . It is located about a mile from the river mouth. The bridge spans 870 yards (800 m), is 92 feet (28 m) at its highest point and weighs 62,000 tons. The bridge connects the A3025 Portsmouth Road to Southampton. It was built to replace the former chain ferry, known as
68-684: A crossing below Northam Bridge began in 1833. The plan for a 17-arch swing bridge was stopped by the Admiralty over concerns on the effects it would have on navigation. Instead the Woolston Floating Bridge was built which opened in 1836. In 1926, in the context of the construction of the Queensway Tunnel under the River Mersey, Southampton council hired Basil Mott to investigate the various options for building
102-488: A fixed crossing across the lower River Itchen. Along with providing costs for a tunnel and a high level crossing, he recommended a low level opening span bridge. Another planning effort was undertaken in 1936. The full report took two years to compile and included sinking boreholes into the Itchen. Again a low level crossing with a swinging section was the preferred option. Attempts to raise funds for this bridge were delayed by
136-406: A framework to avoid sagging and fracture while setting. This process is known as shuttering and reinforcing . The materials used are long steel bars with longitudinal protrusions between the piles held in shape by thinner tie wires. Once this steel mat is laid, timber is attached around the perimeter to contain the wet concrete mixture. Once poured, (usually as a series of small loads), the concrete
170-405: A horse-drawn landau . Southampton's buses started using the bridge on 12 June. The bridge was named by Princess Alexandra, The Hon Mrs Angus Ogilvy on 13 July 1977. This had originally been planned as an opening ceremony, but this was changed when the bridge was completed before that date. In 2011 the bridge lighting was switched to white LEDs with blue LEDs placed on the uprights. As part of
204-529: A local myth that there was a promise to scrap the toll once the bridge had been paid for, but this is not the case. On 21 December 2010, it was announced that an automatic toll system would replace the staffed booth, saving over £200,000 annually. This system measures the height of the front of the vehicle and number of front wheels to judge the applicable toll for that vehicle. River Itchen, Hampshire The River Itchen in Hampshire , England, rises to
238-446: A multi-story building, structure or support base for heavy equipment, or of a bridge. The cast concrete pile cap distributes the load of the building into the piles . A similar structure to a pile cap is a "raft", which is a concrete foundation floor resting directly onto soft soil which may be liable to subsidence . The mat is made of concrete which is an aggregate of small rocks and cement . This mixture has to be supported by
272-489: A recreational water activities centre and the limit of navigation. Sites of demolished mills include those at Durngate, Winchester; at the southern entrance to Winnall Moors Nature Reserve, St Catherine's lock, Winchester and Shears Mill in Bishopstoke. The lower part of the river is an important yachting centre and contains several marinas, sailing centres and boatyards. From seaward they are: Above Northam Bridge,
306-525: A report on a new bridge. Two reports were produced over the following two years; they recommended a fixed structure with a dual carriageway and 55 feet (17 m) feet of headroom, or another with 80 feet (24 m) of headroom. An Act authorising the bridge, the Southampton Corporation Act 1960 ( 8 & 9 Eliz. 2 . c. xlii), was obtained. However, in 1961 Ministry of Transport announced it would not be providing financial support for
340-399: A toll bridge having been decided upon, it was decided it could also be used to control traffic levels over the bridge to avoid the need to significantly upgrade local roads. This was unpopular with motoring organisations, who opposed the council's attempt to get a bill through Parliament to authorise the toll bridge. This opposition was overcome after debate at parliamentary committee level, and
374-570: A toll bridge. The council requested a formal report on the possibility of a toll bridge from the City Engineer and Surveyor in October 1969, and the report was delivered on 12 March 1970. It recommended a two-lane high level bridge with 80 feet of head-space to allow ships from the dockyards upstream to pass under it. A bridge with an opening span was rejected on the basis of the disruption it would cause to traffic every time it had to open. With
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#1732780156085408-474: Is likely from a Brittonic language and in meaning unknown. The settlement of Itchen Abbas , before its abbot's ownership, is transcribed by early Middle English orthography which used the letter c followed by e or i to denote the / tʃ / sound and an e invariably after an n to avoid those down strokes being ambiguous thus, as Icene in the Domesday Book of 1086. The name, in upper parts
442-530: Is rated good or fail. Water quality of the River Itchen in 2022: Death and the Maiden , a 1947 novel by Gladys Mitchell features the river. Pile cap A pile cap is a thick concrete mat that rests on concrete or timber piles that have been driven into soft or unstable ground to provide a suitable stable foundation. It usually forms part of the deep foundation of a building, typically
476-489: The Floating Bridge , that crossed the river at that point. The bridge's set of blue energy-saving lights can be seen from up to 5 miles (8 km) down Southampton Water from the bridge. The bridge has achieved notoriety as a venue for suicide, with over 200 alleged suicides recorded since its opening in 1977, prompting calls for the construction of preventive measures along its length. The first attempt to build
510-399: The 40-year period of the loan, a large part of the loan repayments was met from Southampton Council's general funds, but in later years the tolls delivered a surplus. The toll remains in place, to control the traffic in the areas surrounding the bridge and to cover the ongoing maintenance of the bridge. Surplus tolls, beyond what is needed for maintenance, go to general council funds. There is
544-439: The arms before being moved into place on hydraulic bogies suspended from girders. In order to balance the weight large concrete blocks were placed on the opposite arm. During this period work was slowed by the 1976 British Isles heat wave and subsequent rains. The original plan was for the bridge to open on 1 May 1977 but construction fell behind schedule and instead it was opened 1 June 1977. Before opening to motor vehicles it
578-399: The bridge supports constructed on top of them. From the top of the bridge supports cantilevered arms were then constructed outwards. They were constructed symmetrically in both directions at once in order to keep the weight on the supports balanced. Once the cantilevered arms were complete the sections that spanned the gap between them were cast from concrete in the form of box beams on top of
612-474: The bridge's maintenance eight expansion joints were replaced in March 2016. In February 2022, the city council announced a bridge strengthening programme with works on the bridge in 2023 and 2024, at a cost of around £3.8 million. In February 2024, the city council announced that the bridge would be closed to vehicular traffic for eight weeks for maintenance and improvements. The works are to include improvements to
646-493: The bridge, which again put the project on hold. In the mid-1960s it became clear to the council that some form of action would have to be taken. The floating bridges were reaching the end of their life, requiring an expensive refit or replacement, and the compulsory purchase powers under the 1960 Act would expire in 1973. With no possibility of funding from the Ministry of Transport, the council started to investigate constructing
680-609: The council obtained its Act of Parliament, the Southampton Corporation Act 1973 (c. xix) in July 1973. The contract for building the bridge was then put out for tender and was awarded to the lowest bidder, Kier Group (then Kier Ltd), at a price of £5,710,630. The ceremonial start of construction took place on 22 March 1974, with the Mayor of Southampton driving the first pile . Along with basic site preparation,
714-463: The drainage on the bridge as well as resurfacing. At the Woolston end a toll booth operates daily. Southampton City Council levies a variable toll, depending on vehicle type and time of day of crossing. The original purposes of the toll were to help pay the £12.174 million it cost to build, and also to control traffic levels. The loans to pay for the bridge were paid off in 2016. In the early part of
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#1732780156085748-514: The east of the city's Roman walls , along a promenaded reach known as "The Weirs". Its waters can overflow into water-meadows , passing: the Hospital of St Cross ; the villages of Twyford ; Shawford ; between the town of Eastleigh and the village of Bishopstoke ; and through Itchen Valley Country Park before reaching the northern suburbs of Southampton at Mansbridge . Between Winchester and Mansbridge, sections were deepened or widened for
782-489: The first job was the construction of two jetties, one from each bank, to the position in the Itchen where the two piers in the river would be built. The jetty from the east bank was built first; the one on the west bank was delayed by the need to fill in an area of shallow water known as the Chapel Inlet. Once preparation was complete 100 feet (30 m) long piles were driven into the ground. Transport limitations meant
816-507: The limit of navigation for masted craft, are the Vespasian Road boatyard and numerous small establishments. The SSSI covers the river and its banks, with fen, flood meadows, wet woodland and swamp. It has populations of the nationally rare southern damselfly and white-clawed crayfish . Other fauna include otters , water voles , Atlantic salmon , shovelers and Cetti's warblers . The Environment Agency measure water quality of
850-652: The long-disused Itchen Navigation , and the former towpath forms part of the Itchen Way . Monks Brook flows into the Itchen at Swaythling , and the river then passes under Woodmill Bridge and becomes tidal. Four further bridges cross it before the Test estuary in Southampton Water : Between the latter two, the river passes St Mary's Stadium , the home of Southampton F.C. As the river meets Southampton Water it passes several rowing clubs, sailing clubs and
884-677: The major mixed-development on the left bank in Woolston, called Centenary Quay . Surviving mills on the Itchen include Winchester City Mill (restored to working order by the National Trust ), Abbey Mill, Winchester; converted to a restaurant, Wharf Mill, Winchester; converted to apartments, St Cross Mill, Winchester; converted to private dwellings, College Mill, Winchester; converted to a private dwelling, Hockley Mill, Winchester; converted to private dwellings, Gaters Mill , Southampton; converted to offices, and Woodmill, Southampton; now
918-448: The need to carry out work on Northam Bridge and then by the outbreak of World War II. During World War II the construction of a pontoon bridge was briefly considered, but it was decided that the floating bridge was adequate. A further plan for a low level bridge was produced in 1947, but again work on Northam Bridge took priority. In 1955, with the work on Northam Bridge complete, R. Travers Morgan and Partners were commissioned to produce
952-409: The piles had to be brought in 50 feet (15 m) sections before being welded together onsite. The piling process on the east bank of the Itchen was delayed by the piles hitting the remains of a jetty which had to be partially removed. Meanwhile, on the west side delays were caused after construction disturbed a poorly documented system of sewers. Once the piling was complete pile caps were added and
986-463: The river has long been used for drinking water. Watercress thrives in its upper reaches. Much of the river from its source to Swaythling is classified as a 748.5-hectare (1,850-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), and a Special Area of Conservation , of which the 9-hectare (22-acre) Hockley Meadows nature reserve is a part. The Itchen estuary is part of the separate Lee-on-The Solent to Itchen Estuary SSSI. The name
1020-501: The river systems in England. Each is given an overall ecological status, which may be one of five levels: high, good, moderate, poor and bad. There are several components that are used to determine this, including biological status, which looks at the quantity and varieties of invertebrates , angiosperms and fish, and chemical status, which compares the concentrations of various chemicals against known safe concentrations. Chemical status
1054-584: The south of New Alresford and flows 26 miles (42 km) to meet Southampton Water below the Itchen Bridge . The Itchen Navigation was constructed in the late 17th and early 18th centuries to enable barges to reach Winchester from Southampton Docks , but ceased to operate in the mid-19th century and is largely abandoned today. The river is one of the world's premier chalk streams for fly fishing , amenable to dry fly or nymphing. The local chalk aquifer has excellent storage and filtration and
Itchen Bridge - Misplaced Pages Continue
1088-411: The villages of Avington , Itchen Stoke , Itchen Abbas, Martyr Worthy , Easton , and Abbots Worthy ; to enter the cathedral city of Winchester it crosses Winnall Moors to turn south for its remainder. It flows in anabranches through the city, some close enough to Winchester Cathedral to cause problems to the foundations in the past. The main channel flows through Winchester City Mill and to
1122-445: Was decided to hold a pedestrian-only day for people to examine the bridge. This was held on Tuesday 31 May 1977. The first member of the public across was 69 year old Mrs Edith Parks at around 13:30, with a general opening at 14:00. The bridge opened to motor traffic the following day, 1 June, at 10:30 with the mayoral car leading the way. Former Southampton MP Horace King, Baron Maybray-King decided to celebrate by being driven across in
1156-481: Was once seen as interchangeable with the tributary Alre . The source is north of Kilmeston , in that civil and ecclesiastical parish. The river flows north, through Cheriton village and east of overwhelmingly agricultural Tichborne village, before joining with tributaries the River Alre and Candover Brook immediately north-west of the town of New Alresford . The river then carves its way west passing
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