Newport Bridge

Newport Bridge is a road bridge built between 1931 and 1934, designed by David Anderson of Mott, Hay and Anderson and constructed by Dorman Long & Co Ltd. It features a riveted steel girder structure with concrete-filled piers, and the original woodblock road surface has been replaced with asphalt. The bridge has a vertically-lifting center span that is suspended on steel wire ropes from towers and balanced by counterweights. The concrete abutments are faced with brick, and each tower has a steep ramp on the landward side, standing on four cylindrical steel piers with timber dolphins.

The counterweight boxes, filled with concrete and steel, are suspended on ropes from sheaves located at the tops of the towers. The lifting span consists of two Pratt trusses with curved-topped chords linked by braced trusses, and underslung cross-girders support steel-plated decking that is overlaid with concrete and asphalt. The bridge operates using a Ward Leonard system powered by two electric motors mounted over the middle of the lifting span. The deck accommodates a two-way carriageway, flanked by cantilevered pedestrian walkways with steel railings. The approach sections feature panelled steel parapets. When raised, the lifting span provides 36 meters of clearance for river traffic at high water. At the east end, there is a single-span bridge over the railway, and an inscribed granite block records the foundation, designers, and builders. Newport Bridge is notable for being the first vertical-lift bridge in England and the heaviest of its type in the world, making it significant for its industrial archaeological interest.