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46-730: The Infinity Bridge is a public pedestrian and cycle footbridge across the River Tees in the borough of Stockton-on-Tees in northern England. The bridge is situated one kilometre downriver of Stockton town centre, between the Princess of Wales Bridge and the Tees Barrage . It connects the Teesdale Business Park and the University of Durham 's Queen's Campus in Thornaby-on-Tees on

92-474: A Category III independent check of the bridge design, including loading, wind tunnel testing, and investigation of failure modes. A number of aspects fall outside current standards. The bridge has a 120-year design life. The bridge is a dual, tied arch bridge or bowstring bridge . It has a pair of continuous, differently-sized structural steel arches with suspended precast concrete decking and one asymmetrically placed river pier . The tapering arches with

138-664: A construction compound on the north bank of the river. Using a short temporary jetty on the north bank the deck, panels were floated out on a small barge and jacked into position, working progressively away from the river pier. The concrete deck sections are held together by steel welds and adhesive. The footbridge was completed on time and to budget in December 2008 with 530 workers and uses in total some 450 tonnes of Corus steel, 1.5 km of locked coil steel cable, 780 lights and 5,472 bolts, and weighs 1040 tons. Almost all labour, materials and components were sourced regionally. The bridge

184-603: A disability can cross them. Types of footbridges include: The residential-scale footbridges all span a short distance and can be used for a broad range of applications. Complicated engineering is not needed and the footbridges are built with readily available materials and basic tools. Different types of design footbridges include: Footbridges can also be built in the same ways as road or rail bridges; particularly suspension bridges and beam bridges . Some former road bridges have had their traffic diverted to alternative crossings and have become pedestrian bridges; examples in

230-469: A structure otherwise difficult to reach are referred as catwalks or cat walks . Such catwalks are located above a stage ( theater catwalk ) in a theater, between parts of a building, along the side of a bridge, on the inside of a tunnel, on the outside of any large storage tank in a refinery or elsewhere, etc. The walkway on the outside (top) of a railroad cars such as boxcars , before air brakes came into use, or on top of some covered hopper cars

276-897: A total length of 2,063 metres (6,768 ft). Before it was demolished in 2011, the Hornibrook Bridge which crossed Bramble Bay in Queensland , Australia was longer than the Poughkeepsie Bridge at 2.684 km (1.668 mi). Much rural travel takes place on local footpaths , tracks and village roads. These provide essential access to water, firewood, farm plots and the classified road network. Communities and/or local government are generally responsible for this infrastructure . Pedestrian overpasses over highways or railroads are expensive, especially when elevators or long ramps for wheelchair users are required. Without elevators or ramps, people with mobility handicaps will not be able to use

322-424: A trapezoidal box section are fabricated from weathering steel plate. Each of the arches bifurcates within the spans to form a double rib over the river pier. A reflex piece between the two arches holds them together, making the two arches one continuous curve. No other bridge is known to have quite the same design. The offset river pier is to accommodate water sports and leisure craft to one side. The river pier

368-684: Is a timber bridge that fall naturally or are intentionally felled or placed across streams. Some of the first man-made bridges with significant span were probably intentionally felled trees. Among the oldest timber bridges is the Holzbrücke Rapperswil-Hurden crossing upper Lake Zürich in Switzerland; the prehistoric timber piles discovered to the west of the Seedamm date back to 1523 B.C. The first wooden footbridge led across Lake Zürich , followed by several reconstructions at least until

414-570: Is a type of pedestrian separation structure , examples of which are particularly found near schools. The simplest type of bridge is stepping stones , so this may have been one of the earliest types of footbridge. Neolithic people also built a form of a boardwalk across marshes, of which the Sweet Track , and the Post Track are examples from England, that are around 6000 years old. Undoubtedly ancient peoples would also have used log bridges ; that

460-530: Is also called a catwalk . With the exception of those on top of railroad cars, catwalks are equipped with railings or handrails . Since the early 1980s, several charities have developed standardized footbridge designs that are sustainable for use in developing countries . The first charity to develop such designs was Helvetas, located in Zurich, Switzerland. Designs that can be sustainably and efficiently used in developing countries are typically made available to

506-553: Is an ancient form of bridge found on the moors of Devon ( Dartmoor and Exmoor ) and in other upland areas of the United Kingdom including Snowdonia and Anglesey , Cumbria , Yorkshire and Lancashire . It is formed by large flat slabs of stone, often granite or schist , supported on stone piers (across rivers), or resting on the banks of streams. Although often credited with prehistoric origin, most were erected in medieval times, and some in later centuries. A famous example

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552-677: Is anticipated to rise to some four thousand people a day as the North Shore site develops. The bridge won the Institution of Structural Engineers ' Supreme Award for Structural Excellence 2009, the premier structural engineering award in the UK. It also won in its own category of Pedestrian Bridges. The other awards the bridge has won include the British Constructional Steelwork Association's Structural Steel Design Award 2010,

598-596: Is found in the village of Postbridge . First recorded in the 14th century, the bridge is believed to have been originally built in the 13th century to enable pack horses to cross the river. Nowadays clapper bridges are only used as footbridges. The Kapellbrücke is a 204-metre-long (669 ft) footbridge crossing the River Reuss in the city of Lucerne in Switzerland. It is the oldest wooden covered bridge in Europe, and one of Switzerland's main tourist attractions. The bridge

644-408: Is human-placed rock or other material used to protect shoreline structures against scour and water, wave, or ice erosion. Riprap is used to armor shorelines , streambeds, bridge abutments , foundational infrastructure supports and other shoreline structures against erosion. Common rock types used include granite and modular concrete blocks. Rubble from building and paving demolition

690-410: Is made from stainless steel wire. To ensure any bridge oscillation is controlled, the deck is fitted to the underside with seven tuned mass dampers – one on the short arch, and six on the larger weighing 5 tonnes in all. The mass dampers control horizontal as well as vertical oscillations – a feature only required on very slender bridges. There is provision for the addition of further dampers when

736-415: Is sometimes known as a skyway . Bridges providing for both pedestrians and cyclists are often referred to as greenbridges and form an important part of a sustainable transport system. Footbridges are often situated to allow pedestrians to cross water or railways in areas where there are no nearby roads. They are also located across roads to let pedestrians cross safely without slowing traffic. The latter

782-410: Is sometimes used, as well as specifically designed structures called tetrapods or similar concrete blocks . Riprap is also used underwater to cap immersed tubes sunken on the seabed to be joined into an undersea tunnel . Riprap causes morphological changes in the riverbeds they surround. One such change is the reduction of sediment settlement in the river channel, which can lead to scouring of

828-448: Is supported by an 11.5 m square by 2.5 m thick pile cap on sixteen 1 m diameter hollow steel pipe piles. On the pile cap beneath the water line are four 3 m cylindrical concrete legs, onto which are bolted and welded the four inclined grey steel legs visible above water. Riprap covers the river bed around the river pier for scour protection against the large flows when the Tees Barrage downstream discharges. Each of

874-400: Is the longest enclosed pedestrian bridge, completed on October 1, 2021. The 305 metre bridge was part of a $ 250 million project to UWM's offices, which converted a former warehouse and utilized shipping containers for offices, corridors, and other spaces. The Walkway Over The Hudson footbridge was originally built for trains, it was recently restored as a pedestrian walkway. The footbridge has

920-923: The Concrete Society Civil Engineering Award 2009, the ICE Robert Stephenson Award 2009, the North East Constructing Excellence Awards 'Project of the Year', and the Green Apple Award for the environment. Footbridge For rural communities in the developing world, a footbridge may be a community's only access to medical clinics, schools, businesses and markets. Simple suspension bridge designs have been developed to be sustainable and easily constructed in such areas using only local materials and labor. An enclosed footbridge between two buildings

966-722: The Pont de Solférino in Paris and the Millennium Bridge in London. To ensure footbridges are accessible to disabled and other mobility-impaired people, careful consideration is nowadays also given to provision of access lifts or ramps , as required by relevant legislation (e.g. Disability Discrimination Act 1995 in the UK). Some old bridges in Venice are now equipped with a stairlift so that residents with

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1012-701: The RIBA Competition ; from these a shortlist of five was selected. The successful competition design was by Expedition Engineering and Spence Associates. The subsequent design was led by Expedition Engineering assisted by Arup Materials, Balfour Beatty Regional Civil Engineering, Black and Veatch , Bridon , University of Cambridge , Cleveland Bridge UK , Dorman Long Technology, Flint & Neill , Formfab, GCG, GERB, Imperial College, RWDI , Spence Associates, Speirs & Major , Stainton, and William Cook. White Young Green were project managers. English Partnerships appointed Flint & Neill Limited to carry out

1058-914: The Island of Montreal, was measured by a calibrated device as being 7,512 feet or 2,290 meters or 1.4227 miles or 2.290 kilometers long starting and ending where the treadway rises above the ground and a pedestrian could access the bridge as close as possible to the St Lawrence River. Sky Bridge 721 , the longest pedestrian suspension bridge, which spans in the Králický Sněžník mountain in the Czech Republic, opened in May 2022. The 721 metres (2,365 ft) bridge hangs 95 metres (312 ft) above ground. The United Wholesale Mortgage Pedestrian Bridge in Pontiac, Michigan

1104-453: The UK include The Iron Bridge at Ironbridge , Shropshire , the Old Bridge at Pontypridd and Windsor Bridge at Windsor, Berkshire . Most footbridges are equipped with guard rails to reduce the risk of pedestrians falling. Where they pass over busy roads or railways, they may also include a fence or other such barrier to prevent pedestrians from jumping, or throwing projectiles onto

1150-578: The White Young Green Group, who with English Partnerships produced a brief for an international architectural design competition , organised with RIBA Competitions and launched in April 2003. The brief was for a "prestigious" and "iconic" "landmark" footbridge at North Shore Stockton, to cross the River Tees, which is 125 metres (410 ft) wide at that point. More than 200 submissions were made to

1196-450: The amount of organic material in a waterbody by acting as a filter, catching wood and leaves before they can enter the water. Riprap also covers and prevents plants from growing through, which can reduce shade over the water. Introducing ripraps creates a rocky environment which can affect the ecology of a waterbody by making the ecosystem more heterogeneous. While it can negatively affect some organisms by removing shoreline vegetation,

1242-567: The bridge was gained through angular sculptures of four winged lions crowning the abutments . They were designed by sculptor Pavel Sokolov (1764-1835), who also contributed lions for Bridge of Lions . Design of footbridges normally follows the same principles as for other bridges. However, because they are normally significantly lighter than vehicular bridges, they are more vulnerable to vibration and therefore dynamics effects are often given more attention in design. International attention has been drawn to this issue in recent years by problems on

1288-407: The deck and tie the bases of the arches together, pre-stressing the concrete deck sections. The tie cables are 90 mm diameter on the large arch and 65 mm on the smaller. The aggregate concrete deck sections are 7.5 m long and down to 125 mm thick in places, making it one of the thinnest bridge walking surfaces. The handrails and parapet are stainless steel while the balustrade

1334-414: The handrail that changes colour as pedestrians cross the bridge; sensors trigger a change from blue to white, leaving a 'comet's trail' in the person's wake. Attached to the steel cable ties are white metal-halide up-lighters to illuminate the white painted bridge arches, and blue LED down-lighters to illuminate the water and ground surfaces immediately below the deck. At night from certain viewing angles when

1380-474: The issue of maintenance arises. The clearance (heading) below the decking on the navigable part of the river is 8 m. A special feature is made of the way the bridge is lit at night. This lighting scheme was designed by Speirs and Major Associates who also designed the lighting for the Burj Al-Arab . At night the bridge handrail and footway are lit with custom-made blue-and-white LED lighting built into

1426-506: The late 2nd century AD, when the Roman Empire built a 6-metre-wide (20 ft) wooden bridge. Between 1358 and 1360, Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria , built a 'new' wooden bridge across the lake that has been used to 1878 – measuring approximately 1,450 metres (4,760 ft) in length and 4 metres (13 ft) wide. On April 6, 2001, the reconstructed wooden footbridge was opened, being the longest wooden bridge in Switzerland. A clapper bridge

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1472-584: The north bank of the River Arno until it crosses the river at Ponte Vecchio . It was built in five months by order of Duke Cosimo I de' Medici in 1565, to the design of Giorgio Vasari . Bank Bridge is a famous 25 metre long pedestrian bridge crossing the Griboedov Canal in Saint Petersburg , Russia. Like other bridges across the canal, the existing structure dates from 1826. The special popularity of

1518-414: The project title North Shore Footbridge before being given its official name Infinity Bridge , chosen by a panel of representatives from the funding bodies, from a pool of names suggested by the public. The name derives from the infinity symbol ( ∞ {\displaystyle \infty } ) formed by the bridge and its reflection. Initial investigations for the footbridge were done by

1564-660: The public gratis. The record for the longest footbridge in the world was claimed by then New York State Governor David Paterson in a 2009 article about the walkway across the Hudson River at Poughkeepsie, New York . On July 22, 2017, the Champlain Bridge Ice Structure ( French : l'Estacade Champlain ), a bridge built for bicycles and foot traffic only to parallel the Champlain Bridge from Brossard, Quebec west to Nun's Island (L'ile Des Soeurs) &

1610-457: The river bed as well as coarser sediment particles. This can be combatted by increasing the distance between the pieces of riprap and using a variety of sizes. The usage of riprap may not even stop erosion, but simply move it downstream. Additionally, the soil beneath the riprap can be eroded if the rock was just placed on top without any buffer between the layers such as a geotextile fabric or smaller riprap ( crushed stone ). Riprap affects

1656-469: The river surface is flat calm, the twin arches together with their reflection in the river appear as an infinity symbol ∞ {\displaystyle \infty } , and it is this effect that inspired its name. The bridge was constructed in 18 months between June 2007 and December 2008 by site constructor Balfour Beatty Regional Civil Engineering and steel fabricator Cleveland Bridge & Engineering Company with White Young Green managing

1702-790: The south bank of the Tees with the Tees Valley Regeneration 's £320 million North Shore development on the north bank. Built at a cost of £15 million with funding from Stockton Borough Council, English Partnerships and its successor body the Homes and Communities Agency , One NorthEast , and the European Regional Development Fund the bridge is a major part of the North Shore Redevelopment Project undertaken by Tees Valley Regeneration . The bridge had

1748-599: The southern approach is largely unaltered and has a staircase connecting it directly to the river frontage. The bridge deck is 5 m wide and 4 m between its custom-made handrails. The main arch of the bridge is 120 m long, weighing 300 tonnes, and 32 m tall, with its top 40 m above the Tees. The short arch is 60 m long and 16 m tall. The hangers (droppers) are spaced 7.5 m apart and are made from 30 mm diameter, high-strength, locked-coil steel cable. Four exposed, high-strength, post-tensioned, locked-coil steel-tie cables run alongside

1794-752: The structure. People may prefer to walk across a busy road rather than climb a bridge. It is recommended that overpasses should only be used where the number of users justify the costs. Narrow, enclosed structures can result in perceptions of low personal security among users. Wider structures and good lighting can help reduce this. A bicycle bridge is a bridge designed to be accessible to both bicycles and pedestrians or in some cases only to bicycles. Riprap Riprap (in North American English ), also known as rip rap , rip-rap , shot rock , rock armour (in British English ) or rubble ,

1840-414: The traffic below. It was originally usual for passengers to cross from one railway platform to another by stepping over the tracks, but from the mid-19th century onwards safety demanded the provision of a footbridge (or underpass ) at busier places. However, in some quieter areas, crossing the line by walking over the tracks is possible. Narrow footbridges or walkways to allow workers access to parts of

1886-413: The two concrete riverside piers are supported on four 500 mm hollow steel piles and a pile cap. The bridge as initially proposed was to have been some 272 m long. It was originally designed with a northern approach 38 m long and a southern approach of 54 m; however, the design of the north side of the bridge was later simplified and the bridge's northern approach shortened. The design of

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1932-498: The whole project. At the start of construction, a temporary jetty was built on the south bank to enable the building of a cofferdam for the safe construction of the central pier. In April 2008, the supporting legs were added to the central pier. Steel falsework was constructed in the cofferdam by Dorman Long to support the ends of both incomplete arches as they cantilevered over the river during construction. The first steel arch, made from four pieces of fabricated steel welded together,

1978-449: Was lifted into place by a 1,500-tonne mobile crane, the largest in the country. The crane, a Gottwald AK680 owned by Sarens  UK, is based in nearby Middlesbrough. The crane is 80 metres (262 ft) high with a maximum of 1200 tonnes of superlift, requires 45 transport wagons to move it, and takes three days to set up using a 100-tonne crane. The concrete deck panels were cast on site using three steel moulds in temporary sheds in

2024-407: Was officially opened on 14 May 2009 with celebrations that included a sound, light and animation show, parkour freerunners who climbed the bridge arches with flares, and a specially composed music track and synchronised pyrotechnics from the bridge itself with big screens for the estimated audience of 20,000 spectators along the banks. The bridge was opened to the public two days later. Foot traffic

2070-806: Was originally built c. 1365 as part of Lucerne's fortifications. An early example of a skyway is the Vasari Corridor , an elevated, enclosed passageway in Florence , Italy, which connects the Palazzo Vecchio with the Palazzo Pitti . Beginning on the south side of the Palazzo Vecchio, it then joins the Uffizi Gallery and leaves on its south side, crossing the Lungarno dei Archibusieri and then following

2116-476: Was put in place in June 2008 and was later used to stabilise the cantilevering lower portions of the main arch using a strand-jack and tie cable between the top of the small arch and the large arch and then to reduce sway stress during the progressive construction of the large arch. The final section of the main arch came in four pieces which were welded together on site and on 5 September 2008 all 170 tonnes of it

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