Menai Suspension Bridge, Suspension bridge over the Menai Strait in Anglesey, Wales, United Kingdom
Menai Suspension Bridge carries the road between Bangor and the village of Menai Bridge (Porthaethwy) across the Menai Strait. Its two hollow Penmon limestone towers, with arched openings at their bases, support sixteen wrought-iron chain cables over a 176-metre span; the deck is 100 feet above high water.
The Menai Strait had long been crossed only by ferry, and in 1785 a boat carrying 55 people sank with a single survivor. After the 1800 Act of Union increased traffic to Dublin, Thomas Telford was commissioned in 1815 to improve the London–Holyhead road. Construction of his suspension bridge began in 1819, and it opened on 30 January 1826, cutting the London–Holyhead journey from 36 to 27 hours.
The bridge's Welsh name, Pont Grog y Borth, refers to the ferry crossing at Porthaethwy that it replaced. The village on the Anglesey side, now commonly called Menai Bridge, grew around the crossing point. The structure is a Grade I listed building and a National Monument of Wales.
The crossing remains open for cars and cyclists connecting both shores daily. Pedestrians can walk over the structure on separate paths while taking in views of the strait below.
The limestone towers hold hollow chambers with internal cross walls reinforcing the structure. These hidden spaces help distribute weight evenly and secure the stability of the entire construction.
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