 Spring
2006
On 5 Apr 2006, sections of
the bridge deck made by Qualter Hall in Barnsley were being lifted
on to a framework of girders that would support them while they
were being welded together. The bridge was designed with a clearance
of 4.7m which means that it will only have to open for larger boats,
thus minimising disruption to traffic on the bypass.
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 Summer
2006
During the summer, fifteen
sections were assembled to make a deck 38m long capable of carrying
four lanes of traffic. At the same time work continued on the bridge
abutments and on the control cabin. The structure is founded on
71 deep bored piles and has used 2000 cubic metres of concrete and
350 tonnes of steel.
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 November
2006
The new bridge
was swung across the canal for the first time on 20 November. To
celebrate this stage of the project, the bridge was swung across
the canal again on the following day so that it could be opened
for the trip boat King Arthur carrying children from two local primary
schools.
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 Bypass
Opened May 2007
The
last section of Gloucester's South West Bypass, including the swing
bridge at Netheridge, was opened to road traffic on 25 May 2007.
The official party arrived from Gloucester in the hotel boat Oliver
Cromwell and went ashore to watch a tape being cut by the Chairman
of Gloucestershire County Council, Mavis Lady Dunrossil. Following
the ceremony, three vintage cars and an open-top bus carried official
guests across the bridge in each direction before the road was opened
to the public.
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