A few pics of Salford - some bridges.

This is the first of many short picture sets featuring 'In and around Salford'. As far as possible I will be using photo's I have taken myself, but if I do need to pinch any from the Internet I will quote their source.

For those who may not be aware Salford is an urban city wrapped around the western side of Manchester in the north west of England, and is probably best known (apart from the TV soap series 'Coronation Street') for the Old Trafford football ground which of course is the home of the Manchester United team.

These days Salford is a mixture of its old Industrial Revolution heritage and the massive redevelopment undertaken within recent years, much of which the latter lays down a new heritage for the future. To me this makes the area fascinating to live in.

Within the boundaries of Salford there are three waterways, namely the Manchester Ship Canal, the Bridgewater Canal, and the River Irwell. I won't go into details as the three can be easily 'Google'd', except to say that I live very close to the Bridgewater Canal. The following are just a few landmarks on these waterways:




The Barton Swing Road Bridge near Eccles, Salford. This carries traffic across the Manchester Ship Canal and is one of the few remaining working swing bridges today. The road section is pivoted at its middle on a turntable (which can just be seen in the middle of the water) and can be swung around on that central pivot to allow ships to pass.




Now this really Is a feat of engineering! Probably only a hundred metres away from the swing road bridge above is the Barton Aqueduct swing bridge. This, surprisingly, carries the Bridgewater Canal over the Manchester Ship Canal. And not only that, it too can swing around on a central turntable to allow ships to pass - and remain filled with water to enable narrowboats on the Bridgewater Canal to continue their journey when the aqueduct has swung back again.




Another view of the Barton Aqueduct, as seen from a narrowboat on the Bridgewater Canal. What amazes me is how the ends of the aqueduct bridge, and their junctions with the canal, can be so effectively sealed off to allow the swinging of the bridge still full of water - and without emptying the Bridgewater into the Manchester Ship!

Another crossing over the Manchester Ship Canal, this is Centenary Bridge, which is on a more recent bypass road linking Eccles, Salford, with the Trafford Park Industrial Estate. This one doesn't swing, instead an entire section of road is haulled up into the air between four concrete tower posts. Frightening enough, but you should see the winch cables in the towers - they're only about an inch or so thick!