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New leaflet gives an insight into Wear Bridges’ histories

A brand new leaflet featuring the bridges over the River Wear has been launched by the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) North East to put local civil engineering heritage on the map.

The latest in a series of publications aimed at bringing to life the region’s civil engineering icons and heritage, the leaflet follows the Wear and tells of the history of 10 bridges as the river travels through County Durham and Wearside. The bridges included are: Page Bank Bridge, Croxdale Viaduct, Sunderland Bridge, Elvet Bridge, Kingsgate Bridge, Prebends Bridge, Framwellgate Bridge, Penny Ferry Bridge, Queen Alexandra Bridge and Wearmouth Bridge.

The leaflet was produced by students at Durham University’s School of Engineering and Computing Sciences, with support from ICE’s North East Heritage Panel, the Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation (CIHT), Arup and Durham County Council.

Penny Marshall, ICE North East’s Interim Regional Director said: “The River Wear is a focal point of so much of the North East, from Weardale to Wearmouth, flowing approximately 100km from the North Pennines to the North Sea.

“Bridges such as the iconic Kingsgate Bridge in Durham city centre, which is 50 years old this year, play a major part in the day to day life of many thousands of people. Each has its own unique history and this new leaflet brings that to life, letting people know they are much more than a simple connection from one side of this fantastic river to another.”

The leaflet is downloadable from the ICE website, www.ice.org.uk/northeast, while hard copies are available from outlets including the World Heritage Site Visitor Centre in Durham and the tourist information centre in Newcastle.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Penny Marshall .