Runcorn-Widnes Bridge

 

For nearly fifty years, Runcorn and Widnes have been linked by the iconic arch bridge, which was built next to the Britannia Bridge, that carries the trains to Liverpool from Crewe and the South.

I took these two pictures in the rain from the Catalyst Museum at Widnes.




Note that in the second picture, you can see the towers of the Britannia Bridge to the right of the arch.

I heard an interesting story whilst I worked at ICI in 1970. Whether it is true or not, I have no idea.

People ask why the bridge is not a suspension bridge, which was the type typically built at the time. In fact bridges like the Runcorn-Widnes Bridge are quite rare, with the most notable example being the Sydney Harbour Bridge, which is a lot wider and fifty percent greater in span.

The story says that the Runcorn-Widnes Bridge was originally designed as a suspension bridge and the engineers presented their design to the ICI (Merseyside) Scientific Society. On asking for questions, ICI's vibration expert rose to his feet and said that he had done a few calculations and that because of the proximity of the Britannia Bridge and length of the span, the natural frequencies were such, that at the right windspeed the bridge would shake itself to pieces.

So the design was changed, after wind tunnel tests of the two bridges, showed he was right.

Another story concerning the bridge and involving me is that before we were married Celia and I went to a party near Northwich, where the punch was courtesy of ICI's P & P Laboratory. I got exceeding drunk and she had to stop the car halfway across the bridge so I could puke my guts out into the Mersey.

She nearly ditched me after that, but we survived together for another forty years.