George Street Bridge, Newport

George Street Bridge
George Street Bridge as seen from the promenade at Powell's Town Wharf on the west bank
Coordinates
Carries	Motor vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians
Crosses	River Usk
Locale	Newport
Official name	George Street Bridge
Maintained by	Newport City Council
Characteristics
Design	Cable-stayed bridge
Width	Four-lane carriageway, two cycle/footpaths (total 84 feet / 25½ metres)
Height	171 feet (52 metres)
Longest span	500 feet (152 metres)
History
Constructed by	Mott, Hay & Anderson
Construction begin	1962
Opened	9 April 1964

George Street Bridge [1] is a crossing of the River Usk in the community of Victoria in Newport, South Wales. It is a Grade II* listed structure.

Opening

It was opened on 9 April 1964 and is the first cable-stayed bridge in the United Kingdom.

Before its opening in 1964 the only crossings of the river Usk in central Newport were the Newport Bridge carrying the main A48 road and Newport Transporter Bridge.

Many grand names were proposed for the bridge but it was eventually named after the relatively small George Street on the western bank of the River Usk.

Planning

Originally the bridge was planned to be six lanes wide, but with the M4 motorway Usk bridge already planned further upstream it was reduced to four lanes.

Continuing developments

On completion, the A48 route was diverted over the new bridge, making it the preferred route for through traffic, although in 2004 the new City Bridge on the Southern Distributor Road further downstream became the preferred route and assumed the route number.

See also

• List of bridges in Wales