Warburton Bridge
Warburton Bridge | |||
Location Map ( geo) | |||
The bridge in November 2021 | |||
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From: | Warburton | ||
To: | Hollins Green | ||
Location | |||
Warburton | |||
County | |||
Lancashire • Cheshire | |||
Highway Authority | |||
Trafford • Warrington | |||
Opening Date | |||
1863 | |||
Toll | |||
12p | |||
Additional Information | |||
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On road(s) | |||
B5159 | |||
Warburton Bridge is a bridge on the B5159 across the River Mersey and Manchester Ship Canal between Warburton and Hollins Green and as such crosses the historic boundary between Lancashire and Cheshire.
A stone bridge was erected across the River Mersey in 1863. With the construction of the Ship Canal a high level bridge was built, the river was diverted and its course is now dried up. With this, tolls were permitted to be levied on the new bridge[1]
In May 2018, the toll booth was burned down[2].
In July 2021, the Manchester Ship Canal company proposed to increase the cost of the toll from 12p (which it had been since 1980) to £1 to finance a £6.5m upgrade to the bridge[3].
Videos
Tom Scott - Three strange river crossings
Over the Manchester Ship Canal, you'll find the Hulmes Ferry, the Thelwall Ferry, and the Warburton Toll Bridge. They're all strange in their own way, all under the control of one company, and all dating back to old laws and legal documents from a hundred years ago. I was in the area, so I stopped by, and found that things might be changing soon.
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