DUTCH RIVER SWING BRIDGE

The Dutch River Swing Bridge carries the A161 highway over the Dutch River and acts as a vital link between Old Goole and Goole, the only alternative route is a 38-mile detour.

In 2005 Yee Associates were approached by East Ridings of Yorkshire Council to design a replacement swing bridge with a moveable span measuring 45 metres long x 14 metres wide – one of the biggest to be built in the UK in recent years. Unlike the Victorian bridge it replaces, which had a central pivot, the pivot on the new bridge is positioned one-third of the distance from the tail, to increase the navigable passage when the bridge is open to shipping.

Like the replaced Victorian bridge the new bridge is cable stayed in arrangement and constructed in steel throughout. However for aesthetic reasons, the main longitudinal girders are set back from the edge of the bridge in order to make them less prominent, and the towers are tapered to make them look taller and improve their appearance.

The bridge is the recipient of The Institution of Civil Engineers Yorkshire and Humberside Award 2007.