Last Update: 08. 01. 2015.
The construction of the new bridge at Hayle - Introduction
Hayle is in Cornwall, in the southwest of the UK. The new bridge was built over the southwest corner of Copperhouse Pool, in 2011-12, to bypass the historic old iron swing bridge that originally provided a road and rail link to North Quay. The new bridge is now known as the Jubilee Bridge, after the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II in 2012, celebrating her 60 years on the throne.
This website is a photographic essay that tries to tell the story of its construction. As I'm not a Civil Engineer, I'll let the pictures do the talking, and keep my comments to a bare minimum. If you don't understand what a particular machine or operation is all about, just carry on and all may become clear!
I only visited the construction site for an hour or so each day (and not every day), so I didn't capture everything that went on, but I think I got aspects of all the major phases of construction.
(Technical stuff: I used compact digital cameras, a Canon A480 till the end of 2011, and a Nikon Coolpix S6200 from the beginning of 2012. These were handy, because the lens turret could be poked through the wire mesh of the fencing that kept the public out of the work areas, and a bit of zoom gave the impression of being amongst the action! The copyright to the photos is mine; the originals are up to 4000 pixels wide, but the versions on this website are less than 1000. However, I don't object if anybody wants to use the website versions for non-commercial purposes, such as private study or local history, etc.)
This is not a website you can browse in a few minutes, however - there are hundreds of pictures here! They're dedicated to all the workers on the bridge, who were very helpful in explaining what was going on, and to the people of Hayle, who took a keen interest in progress.
The photos are largely presented in the order they were taken, but minor rearrangements within any particular day have sometimes been used if that reduces the confusion of work going on in several places at once. The captions should help too. Although the bridge runs roughly SE to NW, for simplicity I've used North or South end for the bridge itself, plus West or East side. Main road refers to Hayle Terrace (the B3301), and New Roadway runs north from the bridge and East of the Harbour Office. On the west side of the Office building is Harbour Office road, which leads from the old iron bridge northwards to finish just north of the Harbour office, although a footbridge allows pedestrians to continue further. (These are not official names - the new road layout doesn't appear on most maps yet!) On the north side of Copperhouse creek is King George Fifth Memorial Walk (KGVMW), and up the hillside above that is Clifton Terrace which offers views over the bridge site and much else.
So, on with the show!
Copperhouse Pool from the North East, before work began - the prominent church is that of St Elwyn the Martyr: on the right, the white building in front of a long grey shed is the the Harbour Office, which will appear in many of the following pictures.
This website is a photographic essay that tries to tell the story of its construction. As I'm not a Civil Engineer, I'll let the pictures do the talking, and keep my comments to a bare minimum. If you don't understand what a particular machine or operation is all about, just carry on and all may become clear!
I only visited the construction site for an hour or so each day (and not every day), so I didn't capture everything that went on, but I think I got aspects of all the major phases of construction.
(Technical stuff: I used compact digital cameras, a Canon A480 till the end of 2011, and a Nikon Coolpix S6200 from the beginning of 2012. These were handy, because the lens turret could be poked through the wire mesh of the fencing that kept the public out of the work areas, and a bit of zoom gave the impression of being amongst the action! The copyright to the photos is mine; the originals are up to 4000 pixels wide, but the versions on this website are less than 1000. However, I don't object if anybody wants to use the website versions for non-commercial purposes, such as private study or local history, etc.)
This is not a website you can browse in a few minutes, however - there are hundreds of pictures here! They're dedicated to all the workers on the bridge, who were very helpful in explaining what was going on, and to the people of Hayle, who took a keen interest in progress.
The photos are largely presented in the order they were taken, but minor rearrangements within any particular day have sometimes been used if that reduces the confusion of work going on in several places at once. The captions should help too. Although the bridge runs roughly SE to NW, for simplicity I've used North or South end for the bridge itself, plus West or East side. Main road refers to Hayle Terrace (the B3301), and New Roadway runs north from the bridge and East of the Harbour Office. On the west side of the Office building is Harbour Office road, which leads from the old iron bridge northwards to finish just north of the Harbour office, although a footbridge allows pedestrians to continue further. (These are not official names - the new road layout doesn't appear on most maps yet!) On the north side of Copperhouse creek is King George Fifth Memorial Walk (KGVMW), and up the hillside above that is Clifton Terrace which offers views over the bridge site and much else.
So, on with the show!
Copperhouse Pool from the North East, before work began - the prominent church is that of St Elwyn the Martyr: on the right, the white building in front of a long grey shed is the the Harbour Office, which will appear in many of the following pictures.
This tidal area of mud, sand, and rock is a Nature Reserve, so minimum environmental impact was needed while building the bridge
Pictures from April 2012 are on a sister website. To go there, click blue button:
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