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Before 1827 there was no way from the sea to Lake Lothing which was a body of fresh water, but work to cut a channel from the sea was started in 1827 to create a navigable inland canal for ships from Lowestoft to sail to Norwich, much opposed by the people and the port of Great Yarmouth who lost their monopoly.
The first Harbour Bridge was opened for traffic on the 9th of June 1830, but was immediately found to be inadequate, being a static bridge and too narrow to allow larger ships through, reducing tolls, and the company was bailed out by the government in 1842. In 1846 the government sold it to another failed venture until it was purchased by the 33-year-old Morton Peto. He was an engineer and entrepreneur who built an international career around huge infrastructure projects involving rail, sewers, ports and everything that tied them all together. Lowestoft saw many infrastructure additions and improvements included piers and sheltered inner harbours, and of course, a new bridge, a swing bridge, which connected the two sides of the canal.
Growth was so rapid that it soon became obvious that a new wider bridge was needed. A second swing bridge opened in 1897, the canal having been widened and the new bridge which was 116 feet (35½ metres) long was built to span it.
It too was rapidly redundant but the First World War badly affected the fishing industry and by the time the Second World War was over nothing had changed and money for bridges was short with housing the top priority.
However in 1970 things changed, the swing bridge was demolished and for two years a ferry was the only alternative to the Mutford (mud ford) crossing in Oulton Broad. In March of 1972 the "new" second-hand Bascule Bridge was officially opened. Although it had an expected lifespan of 30 years, it too was obsolete the following day. It was refurbished in 2008 at a cost of £2.8 million. After which it was, on average, unusable for three days each month, either by failing to open or failing to close.

Created: Mon, 21 Jun 2021, Updated: Thu, 19 Sep 2024