Silver Jubilee Bridge

Silver Jubilee Bridge is a steel arch structure spanning the River Mersey and Manchester Ship Canal in Halton. The arch rises 87 meters above the water, with the total length measuring 482 meters and the main span covering 330 meters.

The bridge opened in 1961 to replace the Transporter Bridge that had connected Widnes and Runcorn since earlier decades. Its current name came later, adopted during the Silver Jubilee festivities in 1977.

The name honors Queen Elizabeth II and was given during anniversary celebrations. The construction with its thousands of rivets shows engineering methods from an era when steel bridges were still assembled by hand on site.

After renovation work completed in 2021, traffic now runs in one lane each way across the structure. Cyclists have dedicated paths on both sides of the roadway.

With its main span of 330 meters, the arch ranks among the longest steel structures of its type worldwide. The construction required around 720000 rivets, all installed by hand on site.

Location: Halton

Inception: July 21, 1961

Official opening: July 21, 1961

Height: 87 m

Length: 482 m

Longest Span: 330 m

GPS coordinates: 53.34660,-2.73770

Latest update: December 5, 2025 22:27