Famous Bridges 1 1 



hundred years ago. We do not quite know 

 how they bridged the river, but from details 

 of other similar structures of the Romans, 

 which have come down to us, it is shown 

 that they usually drove piles into the river 

 bed on which stone piers were built, and 

 then a timber bridge was thrown across 

 from pier to pier. 



For hundreds of years there was a bridge 

 with houses upon it, but this became unsafe, 

 and a nine-arch bridge was constructed in 

 1871 ; this, however, so seriously affected 

 the traffic up and down the river that it 

 was superseded by a swing bridge. 



In the 'forties Robert Stephenson had to 

 bridge the Tyne at Newcastle in order to 

 carry the railway across it. It was decided 

 to have a high-level bridge with rail and 

 road facilities. This gave Stephenson a 

 great deal of trouble as there was difficulty 

 in securing good foundations for such a 

 huge structure. 



The traffic is so great across the Tyne 

 that another bridge was needed, and the 

 present single-span bridge was decided upon, 



