Second Severn Crossing

I took the photo above using my mobile phone while crossing the Second Severn Crossing. I was sat in a Toyota Supra doing 70mph so I am quite pleased with the result! I hasten to add that I was a passenger at the time and not driving - it would be hard to take a photo any other way as the bridge carries traffic only! The bridge carries the M4 motorway and connects England with Wales further south down the estuary from the original Severn Bridge which I wrote about not long back (you can view that post here).

So here are some facts about the bridge: It was inaugurated on 5th June 1996. The crossing is 3.186 miles (5.128 km) long in total, and the central bridge section you can see in the photo is of cable-stayed design with the approach viaducts being of a segmental bridge design. I love looking at the lines of the cables as I cross the bridge (as long as I'm not driving), they really draw your eye to the sky! The crossing forms a gentle S shape which you can see clearly when you travel from the English side as you approach it.

I clearly remember watching this bridge being built. I remember watching the two pieces from the land stretching out across the estuary until they met the middle section. Sub-assemblies for the bridge were constructed onshore and then shifted by a large tracked vehicle (similar to that used to move the Apollo and Space Shuttle onto a barge, prior to being floated-out on the high tide to the appropriate site. The section of bridge you can see in my photo and the centre of the pic above is over 900m long with two 149m high twin leg, reinforced and pre-stressed concrete pylons carrying 240 cables which support the bridge deck. The picture above was not taken by me but I thought it would be nice to show you the whole bridge. Personally I think it s best viewed by crossing it.