Union Chain Bridge formally designated as an Historic Civil Engineering Landmark

The conclusion of three years of restoration work on the Union Chain Bridge linking England and Scotland across the River Tweed was formally marked yesterday with the structure declared as an International Historic Civil Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE).

The bridge, which opened in 1820, is the oldest vehicle-carrying catenary bridge in the world and, when it opened, its 137m span made it the longest bridge in the world. The structure was designed by Samuel Brown who was a British Royal Naval officer who also designed innovative cables for ships made from iron chains.

Plans to refurbish the bridge started in 2014 with the formation of the Friends of the Union Chain Bridge with former ICE Gold Medal awardee Roland Paxton as its patron. However, the £10.5M work did not get underway until 2020.

Following the completion of the upgrade by Spencer Group in April, the weight limit on the bridge has been raised from 2t to 3t.

The structure is Grade I listed in England and a Grade A listed structure in Scotland but has now been singled out for honour by the ASCE, which was officially bestowed on the structure yesterday.

Over 100 people attended the event, including representatives of the ICE and IStructE and also guests from the ASCE and Japanese Society of Civil Engineers (JSCE), along with many members of the local community from both sides of the Tweed. The ICE was represented by Trustee Paula McMahon and ICE past presidents Gordon Masterton and Paul Jowitt.

The re-opening event was hosted by Northumbrian County Council leader Glen and Scottish Borders Council councillor Mark Rowley. The two local authorities co-funded the bridge restoration alongside grants from the National Lottery and Historic England.

During the event, a plaque from the ASCE, JSCE and the ICE designating the bridge as an Historic Civil Engineering Landmark was unveiled on the Scottish side of the Tweed. The event then adjourned to the nearby Paxton House for a series of technical talks, which included a presentation from Spencer Group engineering director Joe Dimauro and Purdue University professor of engineering practice Paul Giroux, who is a member of the ASCE, on the design of the Brooklyn Bridge in New York, which is also designated as an International Historic Civil Engineering Landmark.

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