© Gail JohnsonMenai Bridge 1826
Menai Bridge 1826
Menai Bridge
The world's first major suspension bridge
Key Facts
Two-lane road bridge
The world’s longest bridge span on completion
Location
Anglesey, Wales
Across the Menai Strait
Designers / Engineers
Thomas Telford
Description
Suspension bridge
176m main span
417m total length
Main contractors
Dorman, Long and Co. Ltd.
William Hazledine
Construction
Began in 1818
Opened 30 January 1826
The Bridge
Thomas Telford designed and built all types of infrastructure; from churches to castles, canals to harbours, tunnels to roads and bridges. The Menai Bridge was probably Telford’s most acclaimed achievement. It was the first iron suspension bridge of its kind in the world and it established the potential of suspension bridge technology to achieve both long and high spans. Telford designed the central span of the roadway, 176m long and 30m above water level, to be carried by 16 wrought-iron chains, each made of 935 iron bars (since replaced by steel chains).
The bridge was a massive improvement in communication, not only for the people travelling to Ireland via Holyhead, but also for the locals. For the first time, they could cross with their livestock to and from the mainland without fear of perishing in the fast-flowing, dangerous waters of the Menai Strait.
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