Flintshire Bridge

Flintshire Bridge
Coordinates 53°13′43″N 3°03′57″W / 53.228738°N 3.065951°W / 53.228738; -3.065951Coordinates: 53°13′43″N 3°03′57″W / 53.228738°N 3.065951°W / 53.228738; -3.065951
Carries 4 lanes of A548
Crosses Dee Estuary
Locale Deeside
Official name Flintshire Bridge
Maintained by Welsh Assembly Government
Flintshire County Council
Characteristics
Design Cable-stayed
Material concrete
Total length 294metres
Height 118metres
History
Designer Percy Thomas Partnership
Construction begin 1994
Construction end 1997
Opened 6 March 1998
Statistics
Daily traffic 13,300 vehicles per day

The Flintshire Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge spanning the Dee Estuary in North Wales. The bridge links Flint and Connah's Quay to the shore north of the River Dee at the southern end of the Wirral Peninsula. The bridge cost £55million to construct.[1] This cost was met by the then Welsh Office and in the future, maintenance costs are expected to be the responsibility of the local authority Flintshire County Council.

The bridge was officially opened in 1998 by Queen Elizabeth II. It carries part of the A548 road and has been nicknamed 'the bridge to nowhere' by locals.[2]

It is the largest asymmetric cable-stayed bridge in the whole of Britain.[3]

The Welsh Assembly Government is now considering the Flintshire Bridge as an alternative route for a major road expansion through the county, after plans to expand the A494 in Deeside were scrapped in March 2008.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Deeside History". Flintshire Chronicle. Retrieved 2009-03-01.
  2. ↑ "£55million Flintshire Bridge grossly underused". Evening Leader. Retrieved 2009-03-01.
  3. ↑ "Flintshire Bridge". Giants North Wales. Retrieved 2009-03-01.
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