Yorkshire, Humber Bridge

I have long been amazed at mankind's feats of engineering and this bridge is a masterpiece of civil engineering. Simply awe-inspiring! The bridge was developed from a design used initially for the Severn bridge in Bristol, the consulting engineers for the project were Freeman, Fox and partners.

I am lucky enough to use this wonder of the modern world every time I go to work. It brightens my day when I think about my return journey home, I don't even mind being stuck in traffic whilst waiting to pay at the toll booth, as long as I'm on or near the bridge I'm happy.

The Humber bridge was officially opened by H.M. the Queen on 17th July 1981. It held the record for the worlds longest single span suspension bridge for 16 years, it has now been relegated to fourth longest single span suspension bridge. There is enough wire in the suspension cables to circle the earth almost twice (46000 miles). The bridge surface takes the form of a dual carriageway with a permanent speed limit of 50mph, a pedestrian footpath exists on both sides. The towers, although both vertical, are not parallel, being 36mm further apart at the top than the bottom as a result of the curvature of the earth.

If like me you are fascinated by single span suspension bridges I have some good news for you, the anticipated lifespan of the Humber bridge is 120 years! That's time a plenty for us bridge lovers to marvel at it's rare beauty and gigantic size.

Toll charges to use the bridge are £2.70 for cars, £1.20 for motorcycles and a whopping £18.30 for goods vehicles exceeding 7.5 tonnes and with 4 or more axles, although you can buy a book of 20 tickets (20 crossings) for £21.60 for a car.

I have visited many of the British bridges spanning many waterways including the Iron Bridge in Shropshire, the Forth Road and Rail Bridge near Edinburgh, Tower Bridge in London and the Clifton Suspension Bridge spanning the Avon Gorge but thus far only the Humber Bridge manages to send a tingle down my spine every time I see it.

May be one day I will visit the mighty Akashi Kaikyo Bridge in Japan which stands proudly as the longest suspension bridge ever built at a mighty 6529ft long compared to 4626ft of the humble Humber.