IN SHORT
This bridge, a joint project by Phoenix Initiative and the City of Salford, marks the first phase of the development of Chapel Wharf in the former docklands. The Chapel Street area, identified for commercial redevelopment, forms a natural extension to the Manchester Regional Centre. The footbridge, a symbolic gesture over the Irwell, is the first pedestrian crossing of the river and links the adjoining cities of Salford and Manchester. Financed by the Department of the Environment, Salford City, Chapel Wharf, and the European Regional Development Fund, the bridge will open this area to a car-free zone.
The bridge takes its name from nearby Trinity Church. Springing from the Salford side, the footbridge is flanked by two traditional stone-arch motor bridges. The design both exploits and allows for the difference in height of the banks. The main span from the opposite bank to the pylon is 54 meters (177 feet). The deck comprises a triangular steel box girder supporting a footpath 4-meter wide (13 feet). The deck surface is of clay block paving. The pylon, tilted at an angle of 60 degrees, is 41-meter long (134.5 feet), with a diameter between 550 millimeters (1.8 feet) and 1.22 meters (4 feet). An unusual feature of the bridge is the way the cables are anchored within apertures in the surface of the pylon. This system called for great accuracy, since the anchor points required welding into the cone sections at precise angles, before welding of all sections to form the pylon.
YEAR
1993 - 1995
ADDRESS
Calatrava Bridge
Manchester
M3 2LY