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Severn Bridge

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The Severn Bridge seen from the English side of the river. From 1966 to 1996, the bridge carried the M4 motorway. On completion of the Second Severn Crossing the motorway from Aust on the English side to Rogiet was renamed the M48
For the Ontario community, see Severn Bridge, Ontario. For Severn Crossing, see Severn crossing

The Severn bridge (Welsh: Pont Hafren) is the suspension bridge that forms part of the original Severn crossing. The bridge was opened by Queen Elizabeth II, who hailed it as the dawn of a new economic era for South Wales.

The Severn Bridge is a 5240 feet (1597 metres) long suspension bridge supported off two main cables slung between two steel towers. The towers are approximately 400 feet above the river and are of hollow box construction. The deck is an orthotropic steel box girder of aerofoil shape with cantilevered cycle tracks and footway supported from the box. The shape of the bridge was determined by the designers Freeman, Fox and Partners following wind tunnel tests for the Forth Road Bridge, after the original wind tunnel model was accidentaly destroyed. The Severn Bridge is in almost exactly the same location as the old Aust Ferry.

See also

  • Related: In the movie Star Wars (1977), "the sounds of the lasers were made by striking one of the suspension wires of the original Severn Bridge. The longer ones were used for the ships while the shorter ones were used for the hand guns." Quote from the IMDb trivia page for Star Wars.
  • Also: For the rock band Marillion's album Brave (1994), singer Steve Hogarth used a concept that was inspired by a radio broadcast from the Bristol Police. Quoting Steve Hogarth: "The police had picked up a young woman wandering on the Severn Bridge who refused or was unable to speak to them. In desperation the appeal was broadcast to the general public in an attempt to discover her identity." Hogarth heard it on the radio, and several years later it inspired him while he and the band were working on what was to become the Brave album. (Source: Marillion's official website)