Cleddau Bridge
| Cleddau Bridge Pont Cleddau | |||||
| Location Map ( geo) | |||||
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| From: | Neyland | ||||
| To: | Pembroke Dock | ||||
| County | |||||
| Pembrokeshire | |||||
| Highway Authority | |||||
| Pembrokeshire | |||||
| Opening Date | |||||
| 20th March 1975 | |||||
| Toll | |||||
| Free | |||||
| Additional Information | |||||
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| On road(s) | |||||
| A477 | |||||
The Cleddau Bridge in Pembrokeshire, Wales, carries the A477 over the Milford Haven Waterway. A shorter bridge, which crosses Westfield Pill, opened at the same time as the main structure and was designed by the same engineers. This shorter bridge is reached immediately after the main structure when traveling north on the A477.
Until 2019, a toll of 75p for cars was charged in both directions at toll booths, where barriers were introduced in 2004 following many drivers passing through without paying.
History
It was decided during the late 1960s that a bridge over the Daugleddau estuary was essential to allow better access to the Milford Haven oil port. The contract for building the bridge was awarded in September 1968.
The bridge utilised box girder sections; which was at the time of the construction, a relatively new method. During its construction phase, the box girder section was jacked into place across its piers. This process sets up forces that do not occur in the completed bridge, and tragically, in 1970, the part constructed bridge collapsed, killing four people. Similar collapse of a bridge in Australia lead to a change in British design standards to account for the increased forces experienced by the deck during construction. Bridge construction restarted in 1972 and was completed for the bridge to open in 1975.
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