Constructing the bridge (Newport Museum and Art Gallery)
The remarkable Newport Transporter Bridge is one of only six operational transporter bridges left world wide from a total of twenty constructed.
The bridge was built to allow workers to travel from the west side of the River Usk to work on the east. It replaced an earlier ferry, which was unreliable because of the high tidal range at Newport.
The bridge cost £98,000 (£7.7 million in 2017) to complete and was opened on September 12 1906 by Lord Tredegar of Tredegar House. The main span is 197 metres wide and the two towers are 74 metres tall. The gondola, suspended below the main span, travels at 3 metres per second.
The plan to construct a bridge was used to persuade Bristol-based John Lysaght to build the Orb Iron Works at Pill Farm on the eastern side of the Usk in 1898. Without the bridge, workers living on the eastern bank of the river would have had to travel four miles to the mill via the Castle bridge, passing about 28 pubs on the way.
▶ Watch Newport Transporter Bridge opening ceremony (1906):
More information
For more information about the Transporter Bridge and opening times, visit the Newport Museums and Heritage website.
For more information about the history of the bridge, visit The Friends of the Newport Transporter Bridge website.
Take a ride on the gondola and then walk back over the top for spectacular views of Newport and across the Levels.
Website
Opening times
The bridge is currently closed for restoration and the construction of a new visitor centre. It will reopen in Spring 2023.How to get there
By Public Transport
By bike
By road
Help support the Bridge
Newport City Council is currently raising funds to ensure the future of this iconic building. You can donate by visiting their JustGiving page.
