Cllr Mark A Kirk

 LET'S WORK TO REMOVE THE BARRIER TO UNITE BOTH SIDES OF THE BANK

In the North Lincs Labour manifesto we state that we will work with partners to remove or look to reduce the bridge toll, I have already started to have talks with the Hull & Humber Chamber for them to take the lead on lobbying with the support of the authorities in the Humber Region.

INFORMATION ON THE BRIDGE

The bridge's surface takes the form of a dual carriageway with a lower-level footpath on both sides, although traffic is often restricted to one lane both ways. There is a permanent 50mph speed limit on the full length of the bridge.

Each tower consists of a pair of hollow vertical concrete columns, each 155.5 metres (510 ft) tall and tapering from 6 metres square at the base to 4.5 x 4.75 metres at the top. The bridge is designed to tolerate constant motion and bends more than three metres in winds of 80 mph (36 m/s). The towers, although both vertical, are not parallel, being 36 mm further apart at the top than the bottom as a result of the curvature of the earth.^[1]

The north tower is on the bank, and has foundations down to 8 metres (26 ft). The south tower is in the water, and descends to 36 metres (118 ft) as a consequence of the shifting sandbanks that make up the estuary.

There is enough wire in the suspension cables to circle the Earth nearly twice.

The bridge held the record for the world's longest single-span suspension bridge for 16 years from its opening in June 1981 until the opening of the Great Belt Bridge in June 1997 and was relegated to third place with the opening of the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge in April 1998. It is now the fourth longest single-span suspension bridge after Runyang Bridge (China) which opened in 2005

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