Severn bridge when was it built

He had once escaped from His eventful life included a near-death experience when a fellow sailor accidentally discharged a revolver.

Now you can discover Tom's story by The Severn Bridge. The main section spans the Severn Estuary. Read More. Close Privacy Overview This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website.

Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. The roadway deck was constructed from 88 box sections, each 40 metres long.

They were assembled on the riverbanks of the adjoining River Wye, floated into position and hoisted to road level. The Severn Bridge replaced the Aust ferry, which had carried up to 19 cars at a time over the river.

The long queues for the ferry that used to stretch two or three miles were now a thing of the past. In , it became an essential part of the new M4 motorway, reduced travelling time between London-Bristol-Cardiff and helped the economic development of South Wales. From an early stage in the construction the government announced that they would be recovering at least some of the costs by levying a toll.

The original charge for this - in old money - was to be two shillings and sixpence and in those early days tolls were to be collected when motorists were travelling both ways.

The tolls were to be collected on the English side of the river, a fact that caused Welsh poet Harri Webb to write:. The new structure was not just one bridge. It actually consisted of four separate parts.

Firstly there was the Aust section, a bridge of box girder design with a concrete deck; then came the Severn Bridge itself, a suspension bridge with cables slung between steel towers; next was the Beachley section, another box girder structure; and finally a cable-stayed bridge over the area where the River Wye flowed into the Severn.

The finished item was a construction of some magnitude and for many months people took trips across the bridge, just to see and experience the new phenomenon.

The one thing motorists did not want was to break down on the structure - it cost an arm and a leg to be towed off! With the huge increase in car and lorry use during the final decade of the twentieth century it eventually became clear that the Severn Bridge was not able to sustain the pressure and volume of traffic.

Consequently, a second Severn crossing was designed and built, to the seaward side of the original bridge. This opened on 5 June , carrying the M4 and the original road across the first bridge was renamed the M Since its opening in thousands - millions even - of people have crossed the Severn by the original road bridge. Like so many important pieces of infrastructure in Britain, it has been privatized, sold off to foreign investors and operators but it continues in use, closed only occasionally by high winds and, as happened in , by snow and ice dropping from the steel cables onto the carriageway beneath.

Whether or not the bridge brought prosperity to South Wales remains a matter of conjecture. It is certainly a remarkable piece of engineering, a Grade I listed structure that dominates the river and estuary.

It remains an important part of the history of Wales. Sign in or register to comment. Welcome to the BBC Wales History blog, a place to explore both celebrated and lesser-known incidents in Welsh history, watch rare clips from BBC Wales' own archive, find out about history events in Wales and get tips to help you delve into your family history.