The Humber Bridge is the third-longest single-span suspension bridge in the world, near Kingston upon Hull in England. It spans the Humber estuary between Barton-upon-Humber on the south bank and Hessle on the north bank, connecting Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.

Plans for a bridge were originally drawn up in the 1930s, and were revised in 1955, but work did not begin until 1972. The bridge was finally opened on 24 June 1981. The consulting engineers for the project were Freeman Fox & Partners.

At the time of opening, the Humber Bridge was the longest single-span suspension bridge in the world, with a centre span of 1,410 metres. Its total length is 2,220 metres.

The bridge's surface takes the form of a dual carriageway with a lower-level footpath on both sides.

Each tower consists of a pair of hollow vertical concrete columns each 155.5 metres tall. The columns tapering from 6 metres square at the base to 4.5 x 4.75 metres at the top. The bridge is designed to tolerate constant motion and bends more than three metres in winds of 80mph. 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.

The north tower is on the bank, and has foundations down to 8 metres. The south tower is in the water, and descends to 36 metres as a consequence of the shifting sandbanks that make up the estuary.

There is sufficient wire in the suspension cables to circle the Earth nearly twice.

The bridge held the record for the world's longest single-span suspension bridge for 17 years from its opening in June 1981 until the opening of the Great Belt Bridge in June 1997 and later became the world's third longest single-span suspension bridge with the opening of the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge in April 1998.

The road-distance between Hull and Grimsby is reduced by nearly 50 miles as a consequence of the bridge, which has a toll of £2.50 for cars (as of April 2005). Prior to the bridge's opening, commuters would go from one bank to the other either by using the ferry that ran from Hull to New Holland or driving via the M62, M18 and M180 motorways, crossing the River Ouse near Goole (connected to the Humber) in the process.

External link

• http://www.humberbridge.co.uk
• Map at multimap.com
• Aerial photograph at multimap.com