There have been three Redheugh Bridges spanning the River Tyne and currently carrying the A189 road.
The first Redheugh Bridge, built by Thomas Bouch, was opened in 1871 – it needed to be replaced because of structural faults.
The second bridge, built by Sir William Arrol & Co, was opened on 13th August 1901.
The third and current Redheugh Bridge was built by Edmund Nuttall Ltd and opened on 18th May 1983 by Princess Diana.
Work to replace the second crossing began in 1980.[The third bridge is very different from its two predecessors. It is a pre-stressed concrete structure with a central span of 160 m, 26 m above the river, and two side spans of 100 m each – including the approaches, it is a total of 897 m long and 15.8 m wide. It can carry abnormal loads of up to 400 tonnes, and has a life expectancy of 120 years.
It was constructed by Edmund Nuttall Ltd to a design by Mott, Hay and Anderson’s young engineer, Alan Yiu Lun Wan.
The two supporting concrete piers were fluted to create an impression of lightness and were designed to withstand the impact from a vessel of ten thousand tonnes travelling at a speed of five knots, although this is highly unlikely as large ships rarely come this far up the Tyne and the shipping lane has now effectively been blocked by the Gateshead Millennium Bridge. Due to the exposed location, strong winds can cause problems for high-sided vehicles. Early in the bridge’s life, a double-decker bus was nearly blown over the side.
The total cost of construction amounted to £15,350,000.
These are views of the bridge on the southern bank – walking toward Dunston.
Modern Mooch 