Editing Tamar Bridge (section)

==History==
[[File:The Tamar bridges - geograph.org.uk - 797653-edit.jpg|thumb|The original Tamar Bridge in 1978, before its late-1990s reconstruction.]]
For centuries, road users wishing to go from Saltash to Plymouth had two main options. Travel by coach involved a long detour north either to Gunnislake New Bridge (a one-lane bridge constructed in 1520), or other bridges further north along the Devon – Cornwall border.{{sfn|Otter|1994|p=32}} The alternative was to catch a ferry across the Tamar. The Torpoint Ferry had been running successfully since 1791 (and is still in active service){{sfn|Otter|1994|p=33}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tamarcrossings.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=49617|title=Torpoint Ferry|publisher=Tamar Crossings|access-date=12 August 2016}}</ref> while the [[Saltash Ferry]] ran near to the bridge's present location.<ref>{{cite book|title=The River Tamar Through Time|first=Derek|last=Tait|publisher=Amberley Publishing|page=42|year=2014|isbn=978-1-445-62593-5}}</ref> While popular, the ferries did not have sufficient capacity by the 20th century to cater for motor traffic.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1954/oct/27/river-tamar-crossing-report#S5CV0531P0_19541027_HOC_223|title=River Tamar Crossing (report)|work=[[Hansard|Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)]]|date=27 October 1954|access-date=11 August 2016}}</ref> The idea for a fixed crossing across the Tamar had been floated around since the early 19th century,{{sfn|Brown|2007|p=3}} and proposals had been discussed in Parliament as early as 1930.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1930/apr/29/river-tamar-bridge|title=River Tamar Bridge|work=[[Hansard|Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)]]|date=29 April 1930|access-date=11 August 2016}}</ref>

===1950–1962: Construction{{anchor|Tamar Bridge Act 1957}}===
{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title           = Tamar Bridge Act 1957
| type                  = Act
| parliament            = Parliament of the United Kingdom
| long_title            = An Act to empower the county council of the administrative county of Cornwall and the lord mayor aldermen and citizens of the city of Plymouth to construct a bridge across the river Tamar with approach roads and other works and to purchase lands compulsorily for those and other purposes to vest in the said county council and the said lord mayor aldermen and citizens jointly the Torpoint ferry undertaking of the said county council to discontinue the Saltash ferry and for other purposes.
| year                  = 1957
| citation              = [[5 & 6 Eliz. 2]]. c. xxviii
| introduced_commons    = 
| introduced_lords      = 
| territorial_extent    = 
| royal_assent          = 31 July 1957
| commencement          = 
| expiry_date           = 
| repeal_date           = 
| amends                = 
| replaces              = 
| amendments            = 
| repealing_legislation = 
| related_legislation   = 
| status                = current
| legislation_history   = 
| theyworkforyou        = 
| millbankhansard       = 
| original_text         = https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/Eliz2/5-6/28/pdfs/ukla_19570028_en.pdf
| revised_text          = 
| use_new_UK-LEG        = 
| UK-LEG_title          = 
| collapsed             = yes
}}
[[File:Tamar Bridge plaques - geograph.org.uk - 1209285.jpg|thumb|200px|left|A set of plaques commemorating the original opening of the Tamar Bridge, and its reconstruction 40 years later]] 
In 1950, [[Cornwall County Council]] and [[Plymouth City Council]] discussed the feasibility of building a road bridge. The government was unenthusiastic about the idea, as they did not believe it was financially viable and there were more urgent projects in post-war Britain. After being rebuked, both councils agreed to self-fund the entire project, which would be paid for in tolls.{{sfn|Brown|2007|p=3}} The scheme received [[royal assent]] in July 1957.<ref>{{cite web |date=31 July 1957 |title=Royal Assent |url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1957/jul/31/royal-assent#S5CV0574P0_19570731_HOC_305 |access-date=11 August 2016 |work=[[Hansard|Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)]]}}</ref> Invitations to tender were sent on 4 March 1959, and a proposal from the northeast England-based [[Cleveland Bridge & Engineering Company]] was accepted on 9 June.{{sfn|Brown|2007|p=3}}

Preparatory work on the bridge started in July 1959. The bridge was built using suspended construction, which involved building two {{convert|67|m|ft}} concrete towers with support cables over these. Hangers were attached to these cables and the road deck was transported by barge and lifted into place.{{sfn|Brown|2007|pp=3,4}} Cleveland Bridge and Engineering later used the same technique to construct the first [[Severn Bridge]].{{sfn|Brown|2007|p=4}}

The central span of the bridge was {{convert|1848|ft|m}}. The support cables were both {{convert|2200|ft|m}} long, with a combined weight of 850 [[long ton|tons]]. They were constructed for Cleveland Bridge and Engineering by British Ropes Ltd.<ref name=times>{{cite news|url=http://find.galegroup.com/ttda/infomark.do?&source=gale&prodId=TTDA&userGroupName=wes_ttda&tabID=T003&docPage=article&searchType=BasicSearchForm&docId=CS85025113&type=multipage&contentSet=LTO&version=1.0|title=Road Bridge over Tamar opened|work=The Times|page=5|date=25 October 1961|access-date=11 August 2016|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The deck was made out of a concrete base covered with {{convert|20|mm|inch|adj=on}} steel plates approx and {{convert|200|mm|inch|adj=on}} of standard road [[Asphalt concrete|tarmac]].{{sfn|Brown|2007|p=6}} The roadway catered for three lanes of traffic and was designed to be {{convert|33|ft|m}} wide, with an additional {{convert|6|ft|m}} for pedestrians either side of the bridge.<ref name=times/> It could support an estimated capacity of 20,000 vehicles a day,<ref name=times/> with a maximum individual vehicle weight of 38 tons.{{sfn|Brown|2007|p=6}} Bridge materials had a similar colour to the Royal Albert Bridge, which it runs parallel to.{{sfn|Brown|2007|p=5}}

The bridge was unofficially opened at 6&nbsp;am on 24 October 1961, when the construction barriers were removed.<ref name=times/> It was formally opened by [[Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother]] on 26 April 1962.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://find.galegroup.com/ttda/infomark.do?&source=gale&prodId=TTDA&userGroupName=wes_ttda&tabID=T003&docPage=article&searchType=BasicSearchForm&docId=CS101540507&type=multipage&contentSet=LTO&version=1.0|title=Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother cutting the tape to open the Tamar Bridge linking Devon and Cornwall yesterday|work=The Times|date=27 April 1962|page=6|access-date=11 August 2016|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

The total cost of the bridge was £1.8 million (now £{{inflation|UK|1.8|1961}} million).<ref name=times/> It was the first major [[suspension bridge]] to be constructed in the UK after World War II, and the longest suspension bridge in Britain.{{sfn|Brown|2007|p=1}}

=== 1991–2001: Widening and strengthening ===
[[Image:Tamar Bridge Cornwall Devon.jpg|thumb|right|300px|The Tamar Bridge during widening and strengthening work, 1999]]

A 1995 inspection found that the bridge was unable to comply with a [[European Union]] directive for supporting vehicles up to 40 tons;<ref>{{cite web|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/lords/1998/jun/11/tamar-bridge-bill#S5LV0590P0_19980611_HOL_287|title=Tamar Bridge Bill|work=[[Hansard|Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)]]|date=11 June 1998|access-date=11 August 2016}}</ref> although the original bridge was designed for 38-ton vehicles, it was only able to support 17-ton vehicles.{{sfn|Brown|2007|p=8}} A feasibility study was carried out for a new Tamar Crossing in 1991,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1994/feb/02/projects-and-contracts#S6CV0236P0_19940202_CWA_406|title=Projects and Contracts|date=2 February 1994|work=[[Hansard|Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)]]|access-date=11 August 2016}}</ref> but was rejected as the estimated cost would be around £300 million.{{sfn|Brown|2007|p=8}} The existing bridge could not be closed as it was being used by over 40,000 vehicles a day.{{sfn|Brown|2007|p=9}}

The eventual solution was to add two additional [[orthotropic deck|orthotropic]] cantilever lanes either side of the bridge, which traffic could run on while the original road deck was replaced. The work was designed by [[Hyder Consulting]] and constructed by the descendent company of Cleveland Bridge that had worked on the original project. Reconstruction started in 1999, and was slightly delayed owing to an influx of tourists travelling to Cornwall to watch the [[solar eclipse of 11 August 1999]], whose line of totality passed through the county.{{sfn|Brown|2007|p=9}} The new deck contained 82 orthotropic panels, each one measuring {{convert|6|m|ft}} by {{convert|15|m|ft}} and weighing 20 tons.{{sfn|Brown|2007|p=3}} Work was completed in December 2001 at a total cost of £34 million; the two additional lanes were retained to increase the bridge's capacity.{{sfn|Brown|2007|p=9}} The completed construction weighed 25 tons less than the original bridge.{{sfn|Brown|2007|p=6}}

The Tamar Bridge was officially reopened by [[Anne, Princess Royal|Princess Anne]] on 26 April 2002, exactly forty years after the initial opening.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://find.galegroup.com/ttda/infomark.do?&source=gale&prodId=TTDA&userGroupName=wes_ttda&tabID=T003&docPage=article&searchType=BasicSearchForm&docId=IF502443665&type=multipage&contentSet=LTO&version=1.0|title=Today's royal engagements|work=The Times|date=26 April 2002|access-date=11 August 2016|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Traffic was not expected to increase following the expansion of the bridge, as the [[Saltash Tunnel]] further west acts as a buffer for capacity.{{sfn|Brown|2007|p=9}} It was the world's first [[suspension bridge]] to be widened using [[cantilever]]s, and the world's first suspension bridge to be widened and strengthened while remaining open to traffic. The project won the British Construction Industry [[Civil Engineering]] Award for 2002, the Historic Structures category (30 years or older) of the Institution of Civil Engineers Awards 2002, and was one of eight 
finalists for the [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|Prime Minister]]'s Better Public Building Award 2002.{{sfn|Brown|2007|p=10}}

Bill Moreau, chief engineer of the [[New York State Bridge Authority]], was impressed by the project. He visited the bridge shortly after its reconstruction, and hoped that such methods could be possibly used to expand capacity on the three lane [[Mid-Hudson Bridge]] across the Hudson River in upstate New York<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/1742142.stm|title=New York inspired by Tamar Bridge|work=BBC News|date=4 January 2002|access-date=12 August 2016}}</ref>

=== 2001–present ===
In April 2022, a campaign pressure group known as the Tamar Toll Action Group was formed. The group has undertaken a number of peaceful protests with the goal to end tolls on both Tamar Crossings.<ref>{{Cite web |date=6 December 2023 |title=Protest against tolls on the River Tamar to be held this week |url=https://www.holsworthy-today.co.uk/news/protest-against-tolls-on-the-river-tamar-to-be-held-this-week-653926 |access-date=29 December 2023 |website=Holsworthy Post}}</ref>

In 2023, the Tamar Bridge Committee announced a hike in prices due to its losses upwards of £2 million per year. The proposal received a large number of complaints.<ref>{{Cite news |date=8 October 2023 |title=Proposed Tamar crossings toll hike is frustrating, say drivers |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-devon-67046500 |access-date=9 October 2023}}</ref>