The Humber Bridge is a single-span road suspension bridge near Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. When it opened to traffic on 24 June 1981, it was the longest of its type in the world; the Akashi Kaikyō Bridge surpassed it in 1998, and it became the fourteenth-longest by 2025.
The bridge spans the Humber (an estuary formed by the rivers Trent and Ouse), between Barton-upon-Humber on the south bank and Hessle on the north bank, connecting the East Riding of Yorkshire with North Lincolnshire. Both sides of the bridge were in the non-metropolitan county of Humberside until its dissolution in 1996. The bridge can be seen for miles around, from as far as Patrington in the East Riding of Yorkshire, and from out to sea miles off the coast. It is a Grade I listed building.
By 2006, the bridge carried an average of 120,000 vehicles per week. The toll was £3.00 each way for cars (higher for commercial vehicles), which made it the most expensive toll crossing in the United Kingdom. In April 2012, the toll was halved to £1.50 each way after the UK government deferred £150 million from the bridge's outstanding debt.
History
Before the bridge, commuters crossed the Humber on the Humber Ferry from Corporation Pier at Hull and New Holland Pier at New Holland, Lincolnshire, or by road via the M62 (from 1976), M18 (from 1979) and M180 motorways, crossing, by way of the Ouse Bridge, the River Ouse near Goole (connected to the Humber). Until the mid-1970s the route south was via the single-carriageway A63 and the A614 (via grid-locked Thorne) where it met the busy A18 and crossed the Stainforth and Keadby Canal at Keadby Bridge, a swing bridge, which formed a bottleneck on the route, and on through Finningley and Bawtry, meeting the east–west A631.
The journey was along straight single-carriageway roads across foggy moors interrupted by bottlenecks for most of the journey to Blyth, Nottinghamshire, where it met the A1, and the accident rate was high. Debates in Parliament were held on the low standard of the route across the windswept plains around Goole. It was not unexpected that under these conditions, a Humber Bridge, with connecting dual-carriageway approach roads and grade-separated junctions, would seem worthwhile. By the time the bridge opened, much of this inferior route had been transformed by dualling of the A63 and its bypasses, extending the M62 and the connecting of the M18 from Thorne to Wadworth. The obvious need for a Humber Bridge had been reduced by the late 1970s with the improvements of the motorway infrastructure in the region. Although welcome, these improvements detracted from the need for vehicles to cross a bridge from Hessle to Barton. The Humber Bridge was a victim of the success of the M62 before it opened. A hovercraft service, Minerva and Mercury, linked Hull Pier and Grimsby Docks from February to October 1969 but suffered relatively frequent breakdowns.
Act of Parliament
Plans for a bridge were drawn up in the 1930s when a team of engineers compiled a report on whether to bridge or tunnel the estuary. It was decided that a bridge would cost £1,750,000 over a tunnel which was costed at £7,200,000.
Revised plans were unveiled in 1955, but work did not begin until 27 July 1972. The (7 & 8 Eliz. 2. c. xlvi), was promoted by Kingston Upon Hull Corporation and established the Humber Bridge Board to manage and raise funds to build the bridge and buy the land required for the approach roads.
In early 1965 the transport plans for the region were mostly developed, to cost £50 million in total. This included what became the M18 around Doncaster, and a trunk road from Gilberdyke westwards, with a £5.5 million high-level bridge over the River Ouse, to meet the M62. The Humber Bridge was now planned to cost around £11.5 million.Times Wednesday 22 September 1965 But in parliament on 22 September 1965, this east-west road system, and the north-south Doncaster bypass was given much higher priority than the Humber Bridge; construction on the region's transport was planned to start in the 1970s.
1966 Kingston upon Hull North by-election The allocation of funds proved impossible until the 1966 Kingston upon Hull North by-election. Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson prevailed upon his Minister of Transport Barbara Castle to sanction the building of the bridge. Dismay at the long wait for a crossing led to Christopher Rowe writing a protest song, "The Humber Bridge".
In December 1965, the East Riding council disputed the government's plans, and wanted the proposed east-west route to end at Ledsham, not Ferrybridge.Times Thursday 23 December 1965, page 4
Four weeks later at an evening meeting on Tuesday 18 January 1966 at Endike Lane Primary School, Barbara Castle agreed to a bridge. On the same day Mrs Castle, originally from Pontefract, had approved the £9 million Doncaster southern bypass.Times Wednesday 19 January 1966, page 8 Three days later, in parliament, the shadow chancellor said that this was a pre-election bribe.Times Saturday 22 January 1966, page 6
An important feasibility study report by the Central Unit of Environmental Planning, of the Department of Economic Affairs was published on 30 April 1969, which would provide enough evidence for the scheme to be funded.Times Wednesday 30 April 1969 Shortly afterwards, on Thursday 1 May 1969 the Secretary of State for Economic Affairs, in parliament, announced that construction of the bridge would start in 1972, to be built by 1976. Seven days later the local council became Conservative, by 44 to 37 seats.Times Friday 9 May 1969, page 4
Design
The consulting engineers for the project were Freeman Fox & Partners (now Arcadis NV). Sir Ralph Freeman had produced the first ideas in 1927 and in the early 1930s the cost of the project was estimated at £1.725 million and that the bridge would be unlikely to recoup the construction or maintenance costs. In 1935 he had an idea for a suspension bridge for the Humber Tunnel Executive Committee.
Sir Gilbert Roberts produced more ideas in 1955 for a bridge with a central span, costing £15 million, to be paid for by East Riding County Council and Lindsey County Council. The 1955 design looked much like the Forth Road Bridge, which would cost £15 million, and have a 4,500 ft main span. The design would be two side spans of both 1,395ft. 2.4m vehicles would be expected in the first year, which was expected to double over ten years.Times Saturday 24 March 1956, page 5
By 1959, the design would be 4,580 ft and to cost £16 million.Times Monday 4 May 1959, page 7 In 1967 bore hole tests took place, with a soil survey, and wind tunnel tests of proposed designs.Times Friday 16 December 1966, page 16 By 1969 the bridge, now of concrete design, would cost £20 million.
When it became likely that a bridge would be constructed, Imperial College-educated Bernard Wex OBE (1922–1990) produced the design in 1964 that was actually built. The bridge was built to last 120 years. The architect was R. E. Slater ARIBA. The administration building (for the tolls) was designed by Parker & Rosner. The landscaping was designed by Prof Arnold Weddle. Wind tunnel testing took place at the National Maritime Institute (now part of BMT Limited) at Teddington, and the road deck was designed for wind speeds up to , but storms featuring considerably lower wind speeds have been cited as grounds for emergency repairs in recent years.
Construction The main contractor for the steel superstructure was British Bridge Builders (the same grouping as for the Forth and Severn Road Bridges comprising Sir William Arrol & Co., then a unit of NEI Cranes Ltd, Cleveland Bridge & Engineering Company, and Redpath Dorman Long Ltd). In late March 1973, British Bridge Builders received a £15 million contract for the building of the superstructure.
The contractor for the concrete towers, anchorages and sub-structure was John Howard & Co Ltd of Chatham, Kent, which was later bought by Amec. Concrete was chosen for the towers, instead of steel, partly due to cost, but also to suit the landscape. On 22 February 1973 John Howard received a £7.6 million contract for the sub-structure. The bridge would cost £26 million.Times Friday 23 February 1973, page 21
Work began on the southern approach road in July 1972 by Clugston Construction of Scunthorpe. The approach road to the A1077 junction, by Costain Civil Engineering, began in September 1976. It included a span from the southern anchorage of seven pre-stressed concrete box sections and the A1077 junction, costing £4.25 million.
The main southern approach roads from Barton to the M180 motorway junction at Barnetby were built in the late 1970s by Clugston Construction of Scunthorpe, opening in 1978.
Work on the bridge substructure (foundations) began in March 1973. To reduce heat of hydration in the concrete, which produces calcium silicate hydrate from belite, as much as 60 per cent of the Portland cement was replaced with ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBS). It took longer to build the southern anchorage due to a diaphragm wall design due to there not being enough shallow bedrock.
North tower The towers were constructed by slipforming and the north tower was completed on 11 May 1974. In late August 1974, the first cross-beams began construction on the north tower, with a 60-ton platform, with each cross-beam at 497ft, 360ft, 253ft and 90ft. The lowest cross-beam at 90ft was 26ft thick. The top and bottom cross-beams were hollow.Grimsby Evening Telegraph Wednesday 28 August 1974, page 6 The Hessle tower was complete on Wednesday 30 April 1975, after 16 months.
In November 1976 the Hessle tower was offset by 530mm, by a winch from the ground.Grimsby Evening Telegraph Friday 5 November 1976, page 11
South tower The southern foundations (on the Barton side) were completed in September 1975, with the pier completed in March 1976, and the southern tower was completed by September 1976. The northern tower and anchorage were built on solid chalk but the southern tower and anchorage were built on fissured Kimmeridge Clay, from the southern shore and built with a difficult caisson design. The subcontractor for the concrete was Tileman & Co. of Shipston-on-Stour, south Warwickshire.
The south tower was to be finished by May 1975. In early March 1975, digging hit an artesian well in the west caisson, which permeated the layer of bentonite mud. Extra kentledge weight was added. The caisson was originally 11,500 tons. 3,000 tons were added to each caisson.Grimsby Evening Telegraph Wednesday 23 April 1975, page 1 In September 1975 the caisson had reached the required depth. Construction of the Barton tower only began in April 1976. The Barton tower grew at 100mm per hour, the Hessle tower grew at 77mm per hour, day and night, with completion after 19 weeks. The difficulty of the Barton tower added three years to construction. By early September 1976, the south tower was complete, with two cross-beams. The next two cross-beams would be added much later during 1977. In September 1976 the superstructure began.Grimsby Evening Telegraph Wednesday 22 September 1976, page 5
In October 1976, two 45-tonne cranes were put at the top of the south tower.Grimsby Evening Telegraph Monday 18 October 1976, page 7 These cranes were both on the Bosphorus Bridge.Scunthorpe Evening Telegraph Friday 19 March 1976, page 4
Cable spinning The first wire acrossed the river on 21 February 1977, with three men in boat, with a rope.Scunthorpe Evening Telegraph Tuesday 22 February 1977, page 1 At 11.35am on Wednesday 4 May 1977, five men were the first to walk across the river; the cross-beams on the Barton tower had not been built.Grimsby Evening Telegraph Thursday 5 May 1977, page 1