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Shaldon Bridge

United Kingdom / England / Teignmouth /
 bridge, Grade II Listed (UK)

The original bridge was owned by the Teignmouth and Shaldon Bridge Company and opened on 8 June1827. It had 34 wooden arches and was 1,671 feet long with a swing bridge at the Teignmouth end to allow sailing ships to pass up the estuary. It had abutment walls of a considerable length at either end. It was the longest wooden bridge in England when built, at nearly a third of a mile long, and its original toll house survives. It cost around £19,000 to build, but the overall expenditure was about £26,000 due to the costs of the act of parliament and the purchase of the old ferry-rights. After only eleven years, on 27 June1838 the centre arches of the bridge collapsed, the timbers being eaten through by shipworms.It was rebuilt in wood, but collapsed again in 1893. The bridge was completely rebuilt in 1927 using steel for the piers and main girders and concrete for most of the deck, except for the opening span which used timber

On 28 October 1948 Devon County Council bought the bridge from the Shaldon Bridge Company for £92,020 and tolls were abolished. The original paintwork was inadequate to deal with the environment, and repairs were required in 1960 and in 1980. In 1998 it was discovered that the bridge had severe structural defects and work to correct this continued until 2002, the bridge remaining open throughout. After this work was completed, residents nearby noticed that in certain wind conditions the bridge "whistles". As of 2007 the problem had not been solved.
list.english-heritage.org.uk/resultsingle.aspx?uid=1269...
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   50°32'39"N   3°30'36"W
This article was last modified 10 years ago