Royal Albert Bridge

Royal Albert Bridge

The Royal Albert Bridge (sometimes called the Brunel Bridge) spans the River Tamar between Plymouth, on the Devon bank and Saltash on the Cornish bank carrying the Great Western Main Line in and out of Cornwall.

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The bridge was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel for the Cornwall Railway Company after Parliament rejected his original plan for a train ferry across the Hamoaze. The bridge consists of two main spans of 455 feet, 100 feet above mean high spring tide, plus 17 approach spans. The difficulty of its construction rates it as one of Brunel's greatest railway achievements. Opened by Prince Albert on May 2, 1859, it was completed the year of the great engineer's death.

A short distance to the north of Brunel's bridge, the Tamar is crossed by the Tamar Bridge carrying the A38, one of the three trunk roads connecting Cornwall.

References

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Binding, John (1997). Brunel's Royal Albert Bridge: A Study of the Design and Construction of his 'Gateway to Cornwall' at Saltash. Truro: Twelveheads Press. ISBN 0-906294-39-8.