Bridge_Project

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The Gateshead Millennium Bridge is a pedestrian and cyclist tilt bridge spanning the River Tyne in England between Gateshead's Quays arts quarter on the south bank, and the Quayside of Newcastle upon Tyne on the north bank.The bridge is sometimes referred to as the 'Blinking Eye Bridge or the 'Winking Eye Bridge due to its shape and its tilting method. In terms of height, the Gateshead Millennium Bridge is slightly shorter than the neighbouring Tyne Bridge. =====

====Design and Construction ====

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Putting a twist on the conventional drawbridge, the Millennium Bridge tilts to let ships pass under it instead of parting at the middle. It was designed with the aid of LUSAS Bridge analysis software. =====

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The Gateshead Millennium Bridge has two live webcams which overlook it from the north and south, and since its completion it's enjoyed status as a landmark, it will even appear on the back of British pound coins. =====

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The actual bridge was constructed by Watson Steel of Bolton (the arch and deck, the former supporting the latter by means of steel cables), the opening mechanism in Sheffield while the frame was assembled locally at the Amec Yard at Wallsend. =====

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The bridge was lifted into place in one piece by the Asian Hercules II, one of the world's largest floating cranes, on 20 November 2000. Many people congregated on the quaysides and on the Tyne Bridge to watch. =====

Type of Bridge
This bridge is a steel suspension bridge. Which means it has cables strung across the river and the deck is suspended from these cables. The cables are strung to the towers, these structures are the ones supporting the roadway's weight and they also have a suporting truss sys tem. It's a tilting bridge, electrically operated.

Materials
The main materials used for this bridge's construction were steel and aluminium.

Technology
The main advance in technology used in the design of this bridge is the fact that it doesn't part at the middle in order to let ships pass under it, instead it tilts. Whilst small river craft can sail beneath the bridge, for larger craft the cable-stayed double arched structure pivots at the abutments through an angle of 40 degrees to give the 25m navigational clearance as specified by the client, Gateshead Borough Council. Powered by eight electric motors, it takes approximately four minutes to rotate the 850 tonne dead weight of the structure to its fully open position. When raised the suspension cables lay horizontal holding the pair of arches together.

Awards
The construction of the bridge won the architects Wilkinson Eyre the 2002Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Stirling Prize and won Gifford the 2003 Istructe Supreme Award. They won the 2001 prize for the Magna Science Adventure Centre In 2005, the bridge received the Outstanding Structure Award from International Association for Bridge and Strctural Engineering (IABSE).

Advantages and Disadvantages
It has a delicate form that pops out of the urban landscape of the city, the bridge is giving people a quiet place to walk and admire their surroundings and at the same time aislate them from the movement of the cars (the bridge is only for people and cyclists), it also allows the cityzens to move across the river in a faster way.

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The bridge has operated reliably since construction, opening to allow river traffic to pass. It also opens periodically for sightseers and for major events such as the Northumbrian Water University Boat Race and the Cutty Sark Tall Ship's Race. One of the principal requirements for opening the bridge is to allow access to HSM Calliope where Royal Navy patrol boat is based. =====

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The bridge requires a special mantenience due to it's unique design and particular working system, with means a significant amount of money in order to keep it functional. =====