, Menai Bridge, Anglesey, Wales

Map of Menai Suspension Bridge location

In the early 19th Century the Menai Strait was an obstacle to communication between London and Dublin. But how could the A5, the main London to Holyhead road, cross the 177m/580ft wide Menai Straits while still allowing fully rigged tall ships to pass beneath Thomas Telford was the engineer to meet that challenge and in the process he created the world's longest suspension bridge of its time. A few facts about the bridge: The height of the carriageway above the water - 30m/100ft. The total height - 46m/1500ft. The suspended span - 177m/580ft. Suspension Chain weight, the original iron - 23 tons each. The final and most dangerous phase in the construction of the Menai Suspension Bridge was the raising of these 16 iron chains. This was completed safely and indeed in the seven years it took to construct the bridge there were only 4 men who died working on the bridge, an English man, a Welsh man, a Scot, and an Irish man. Telford and the workforce not only constructed a marvellous piece of engineering they also produced a work of art the like of which we don't often get the opportunity to witness. ....

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