page_title: Tamar Bridge
section_title: Building
hierarchical_section_title: Tamar Bridge / Construction / Building
caption_attribution_description: Tamar Bridge plaques
context_page_description: The Tamar Bridge is a major road bridge over the River Tamar between Saltash, Cornwall and Plymouth, Devon in southwest England. It is 335 metres long, running adjacent to the Royal Albert Bridge, and part of the A38, a main road between the two counties.
  During the 20th century, there was increasing demand to replace or supplement the Saltash and Torpoint ferries, which could not cope with the rise in motor traffic. The Government refused to prioritise the project, so it was financed by Plymouth City Council and Cornwall County Council. Construction was undertaken by the Cleveland Bridge & Engineering Company and began in 1959. It was unofficially opened in October 1961, with a formal presentation by Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother in April 1962. A reconstruction of the bridge began in 1999 after it was found to be unable to support a European Union requirement for goods vehicle weights. The work involved building two new parallel decks while the original construction was completely rebuilt. The project was completed in late 2001 and formally opened by Princess Anne in April 2002. The extra decks have remained in use, increasing the bridge's capacity.
context_section_description: Preparatory work on the bridge started in July 1959. The bridge was built using suspended construction, which involved building two 67 metres (220 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. Cleveland Bridge and Engineering later used the same technique to construct the first Severn Bridge.
  The central span of the bridge was 1,848 feet (563 m). The support cables were both 2,200 feet (670 m) long, with a combined weight of 850 tons. They were constructed for Cleveland Bridge and Engineering by British Ropes Ltd. The deck was made out of a concrete base covered with 20-millimetre (0.79 in) steel plates approx and 200-millimetre (7.9 in) of standard road tarmac. The roadway catered for three lanes of traffic and was designed to be 33 feet (10 m) wide, with an additional 6 feet (1.8 m) for pedestrians either side of the bridge. It could support an estimated capacity of 20,000 vehicles a day, with a maximum individual vehicle weight of 38 tons. Bridge materials had a similar colour to the Royal Albert Bridge, which it runs parallel to.
  The bridge was unofficially opened at 6am on 24 October 1961, when the construction barriers were removed. It was formally opened by Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother on 26 April 1962.
  The total cost of the bridge was £1.8 million (now £40 million). It was the first major suspension bridge to be constructed in the UK after World War II, and the longest suspension bridge in Britain.
caption: A set of plaques commemorating the original opening of the Tamar Bridge, and its reconstruction 40 years later
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