2015

SJ8097 : The Lowry Bridge and Quay West

taken 10 years ago, near to Trafford Park, Trafford, England

The Lowry Bridge and Quay West
The Lowry Bridge and Quay West
Also known Millennium Bridge (it was built in 2000) the Lowry Bridge provides pedestrian access between The Lowry Centre on the north bank of the Manchester Ship Canal and Trafford Wharf on the south bank. It was designed as a lift bridge because the Manchester Ship Canal is still navigable to shipping beyond the bridge (LinkExternal link - Manchester History Net).

The large distinctive shiny copper-coloured office block at the opposite end of the bridge (SJ 804 969) is Quay West, undoubtedly one of Salford Quays' best known buildings. In 2005, the building was sold for £13 million. (LinkExternal link (Archive LinkExternal link ) - Manchester Evening News)

See other images of Salford Quays and MediaCityUK
The Manchester Ship Canal

The Manchester Ship Canal, which took six years to build and was opened in 1894, is a 36-mile-long inland waterway linking Manchester to the Irish Sea at Liverpool. It generally follows the original routes of the rivers Mersey and Irwell through the historic counties of Cheshire and Lancashire. Several sets of locks lift vessels about 60 feet up to the Manchester Docks (now Salford Quays), where the canal's terminus was built.

When the ship canal opened in January 1894 it was the largest river navigation canal in the world, and enabled the newly created Port of Manchester to become Britain's third busiest port despite the city being about 40 miles inland. Since its opening, the canal handled a wide range of ships and cargoes, from coastal vessels to intra-European shipping and inter-continental cargo liners; Manchester Liners established regular sailings by large ocean-going vessels.

The amount of freight carried by the canal peaked in 1958 at 18 million long tons but changes to shipping methods and the growth of containerisation during the 1970s and 1980s caused traffic to decline, resulting in the closure of the docks at Salford in 1984. Although able to accommodate a range of vessels from coastal ships to inter-continental cargo liners, the canal is no longer large enough for most modern vessels.


Creative Commons Licence [Some Rights Reserved]   © Copyright David Dixon and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
1:50,000 Modern Day Landranger(TM) Map © Crown Copyright
+
+
1:50,000 Modern Day Landranger(TM) Map © Crown Copyright
TIP: Click the map for more Large scale mapping
Grid Square
SJ8097, 1209 images   (more nearby 🔍)
Photographer
David Dixon   (more nearby)
Date Taken
Friday, 3 July, 2015   (more nearby)
Submitted
Sunday, 5 July, 2015
Subject Location
OSGB36: geotagged! SJ 804 970 [100m precision]
WGS84: 53:28.1730N 2:17.7495W
Camera Location
OSGB36: geotagged! SJ 804 970
View Direction
SOUTH (about 180 degrees)
Clickable map
+
NW N NE
W Go E
SW S SE
Image classification(about): Geograph
This page has been viewed about 133 times
You are not logged in | login | register