Avonmouth Bridge, Road bridge in Avonmouth, England
Avonmouth Bridge is a road bridge in Avonmouth, England, carrying eight lanes of the M5 motorway over the River Avon between Bristol and Somerset. Built from reinforced concrete and steel, the structure rises high enough above the water to let tall ships pass beneath it.
Work on the bridge started in 1969, with Fairfield-Mabey leading the project and Tarmac Civil Engineering handling the foundations and concrete work. It opened in 1974 as a direct response to the growing volume of traffic moving through Southwest England.
The bridge takes its name from Avonmouth, the port district that grew around the mouth of the River Avon. Pedestrians crossing on the dedicated walkway get a clear view over the docks and the wide estuary below.
A separate footpath and cycleway runs alongside the motorway lanes, connecting Avonmouth station with Royal Portbury Dock. The path is exposed to wind off the estuary, so it is worth being prepared for changing weather when crossing on foot or by bike.
The bridge was originally designed to allow a second parallel crossing to be added alongside it if demand ever required. That second bridge was never built, and the single structure has handled the traffic ever since.
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