Causey Bridge

Causey Bridge crosses the River Derwent in the centre of Derby on the A601, which is the inner ring road. The bridge has a span of 55m and carries 7 lanes of traffic across the river.

History

Causey Bridge was built as part of Stage II of Derby's inner ring road and opened, along with the rest of stage II, in 1972. When in the planning stage, a number of constraints were placed on the structure of the new bridge, due to the presence of the historic St Mary's Bridge and bridge chapel nearby. The new bridge was required to be as low as possible so the chapel was not intruded on, but at the same time was also required to be as high as possible so a view of St Mary's Bridge itself was still maintained from the river gardens. These issues were overcome by ensuring the main span of the bridge was as slender as possible.

St Mary's Bridge

St Mary's Bridge

St Mary's Bridge is the predecessor to Causey Bridge, and is still open to traffic. It is also The oldest bridge site in Derby across the Derwent. The bridge is a 3 arch stone structure dating back to the 18th Century and lies a little way up stream from Causey Bridge. Until Causey Bridge and the remainder of St Alkmund's way opened, St Mary's bridge carried the A52 across the river. Today it carries the now unclassified S2 Sowter Road across the river.