Northern Road Bridge was constructed in 1927 to carry the A3 (now A397) over the railway between Portchester and Cosham Railway Stations. The bridge, owned by Portsmouth City Council, forms an important north - south route for traffic leaving and accessing Portsea Island.
1,500 vehicles use Northern Road bridge per hour at peak times. On average, 60 buses use the bridge every hour. An inspection of the bridge in 2005 showed that it was in a very poor condition and would need to be replaced. In order to prevent acceleration of the deterioration, concrete blocks were used to narrow the bridge down to one lane in each direction. After a successful bid to the Department for Transport for 11m to replace the bridge, work began in September 2012. The new bridge was officially opened in April 2014 and will benefit the community for at least the next 120 years. Artwork, running along the length of both of the bridge's parapets is the result of artist, Elaine Tribley's collaboration with local community groups and pupils from Medina Primary School. Click on the links on the left hand navigation to see some of the artworks created and how they fed into the final designs. |