History of Tyne Bridge in Newcastle

On the 10th of October 1928 thousands of citizens from Newcastle packed the streets as King George V officially cut the tape and officially opened Tyne Bridge. Was there really a tape cutting? No one really knows if there was an actual tape cutting but 2018 marks 90 years since the opening of Tyne Bridge.

At the time Tyne Bridge was the longest single-span bridge in operation globally.

Over nearly the last century the Tyne Bridge has become a well recognized symbol of Newcastle. The bridge is not just a monument raised for tourism though. It serves a real purpose when traveling across between Newcastle and Gateshead over the River Tyne. Unfortunately this also meant a lot of business was taken away from Gateshead.

Two Very Similar Bridges

You might notice that the bridge in Newcastle and the bridge in Sydney, Australia a very visually similar. And you would be right to question this. The bridges are in fact pretty much the same. The same firm, Mott, Hay and Anderson designed both bridges. But you might be pleased to know that Tyne Bridge opened about 4 years ago before the bridge in Sydney.

Tyne Bridge Was actually a prototype used before Sydney Harbour Bridge was built. To cut a long story short as you could argue several different viewpoint for a very long time. Tyne Bridge came first.

Tyne Bridge Newcastle Facts

• Unlike Sydney’s Bridge, Tyne Bridge cannot be climbed. One simply needs to Google ‘Climb Tyne Bridge’ and the first page of Google is covered in arrest notices.
• Construction on Tyne Bridge started in August 1925 and finished on 25th February 1928.
• Tyne Bridge is spans 162 meters and has a height of 59 meters.
• The Tyne Bridge was built with 7,112 tonnes of steel coming in at a total cost of £1.2MM. By today’s standards that seems like pocket change. If the conversion is done based off 2018 rates with inflation that’s about £9MM!
• One person died during the construction of the Tyne Bridge. His name was Nathaniel Collions. The reason for his death was that safety ropes were not mandatory.
• The design of Tyne Bridge was by a local from Newcastle called Robert Burns Dick.
• The towers were designed to be warehouses with five separate floors each but to this day they remain incomplete inside without levels.