October 3, 1923
A vehicular bridge in southern England’s town of Reading was inaugurated on a Wednesday marked by both rain and strong winds. The next day’s edition of the London-based Daily Telegraph reported on the debut of this structure.
This newspaper stated, “With as much civic pomp as the wretched weather would permit the new bridge which spans the Thames at Reading was formally declared open yesterday by Alderman J.W. Martin.” The Daily Telegraph further noted, “Two tablets on the eastern and western parapets were also unveiled by Mr. C. Marten Powell and Alderman F.B. Parfitt.”
In its own account of this grand opening, the Gloucester-based Citizen underscored the far-reaching benefits of the newest crossing for the River Thames. This newspaper asserted, “The bridge provides a much-needed line of communication between [the community of] Lower Caversham, on the Oxfordshire [County] side of the river, and the main portion of the town on the Berkshire [County] side.”
The Citizen also highlighted the structure’s more immediate claims to fame. “It is one of the longest ferro-concrete bridges in England,” stated this newspaper, “and the river arch is actually the largest span so far constructed in the kingdom.”
Reading Bridge has a total length of 180 feet (55 meters) and a width of 40 feet (12 meters). The accompanying photo of this bridge was taken in 2009.
Photo Credit: Ben Sutherland (https://www.flickr.com/photos/60179301@N00/) – licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en
For more information on Reading Bridge, please check out https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reading_Bridge and https://www.cadra.org.uk/readingbridge100
Transportation History 