October 3, 1906
In southwestern England, a road-rail swing bridge crossing the River Avon in Bristol — a city, ceremonial county, and unitary authority — first went into service. The Ashton Avenue Bridge was built as a key part of the Bristol Harbour Railway, a longtime transportation link for Bristol’s docks and wharves. Alfred John Smith was lord mayor of Bristol at the time of the bridge’s debut, and it was his wife Jessie who formally inaugurated the multi-modal structure.
For quite a few years, the Ashton Avenue Bridge’s span was opening an average of 10 times per day to allow vessels to pass through that section of the River Avon. This bridge continued to carry vehicular traffic until 1965 and it remained in operation as a railway connection until 1987.
The Ashton Avenue Bridge now serves as part of a rail trail for pedestrians in that region of England and also as a link for both Routes 33 and 41 of the United Kingdom’s National Cycle Network. The bridge likewise carries a route of MetroBus, Bristol’s bus rapid transit system.
Photo Credit: mattbuck (licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en)
For more information on the Ashton Avenue Bridge, please check out https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashton_Avenue_Bridge
Transportation History 