People have been crossing between Runcorn and Widnes for a long
time. The earliest records of ferries go back to the 12th century.
There is a famous ditty by Stanley Holloway which questioned why
people would wish to do this.
"Now Runcorn lay over on one side of stream,
And Widnes on t'other side stood,
And, as nobody wanted to go either place,
Well, the trade wasn't any too good."
Nevertheless the Runcorn Gap has been bridged three times, and
this is the first of a mini series to mark each crossing.
What we know as the "Runcorn Bridge" is a compression arch
suspended-deck bridge. Numerous examples of this type exist around
the world. The most famous of these is probably the Sydney Harbour
Bridge but there is also the Tyne Bridge and the Bayonne Bridge in
New York City.
The official name of the Runcorn Bridge is the "Silver Jubilee
Bridge". It was renamed in 1977 from it's previous title the
unimaginative "Runcorn - Widnes Bridge". Work started on it in 1954
when the Old Transporter Bridge began to struggle to cope with
demand for its use. It was opened in 1961
Like its predecessor the bridge has a lot of work to do. In 1975
it was given an extra lane both ways. Apparently the number of cars
using the bridge has increased by 175% in the last 15 years. On a
weekday approximatley 80000 cars will pass over the bridge, but
only 20% of these will be journeying solely from Runcorn to Widnes
(or vice versa). The bridge may get a helping hand if the proposed
Mersey Gateway goes ahead, so find those caches at Fiddlers Ferry
whilst you can!
As stated earlier the bridge is very similar to the Sydney
Harbour Bridge and is roughly 2/3 of its size. At the cache site I
like to close my eyes and pretend I'm at Circular Quay!