Gull Wing Bridge

Gull Wing Bridge is a road bridge being built to span Lake Lothing in the town of Lowestoft, Suffolk, England, which is claimed to be (once completed) the largest rolling bascule bridge in the world lifted using hydraulic cylinders. The bridge is planned to be completed and open to traffic in the summer of 2024.

The bridge will be higher than the existing bascule bridge at the harbour mouth, and so will not need to be lifted up as often for shipping to pass underneath. The idea of a third bridge in the area was first suggested in 1918, and approval for the Lake Lothing Third Crossing was granted in 2020. It was renamed Gull Wing Bridge after a competition for names being held at local schools.

History
By 2020, the traffic situation in the town of Lowestoft had become an increasing concern for local council officials and Suffolk county politicians. Due to the geographical location of the town, alongside the establishment of its port during the 19th century, Lowestoft became divided by a body of water that required bridges to allow connections between the northern and southern halves of the town:


 * An eastern harbour bridge, situated over a channel that provides access from the North Sea to the inner port on the eastern end of Lake Lothing.
 * A western bridge in Oulton Broad, situated over a canal lock that connects the western end of Lake Lothing to the River Waveney and the Broads.

Since their construction, both bridge crossings have seen changes. The harbour bridge originally began as a swing bridge, but was replaced twice, with the current bridge a lifting bascule bridge that was installed in 1972; the western bridge was originally a swing bridge that formed part of Bridge Road, before a bypass stretch in Oulton Broad led to the establishment of a new lifting bridge, the Mutford Bridge, east of the original crossing - which itself was replaced with a wooden lifting bridge used mainly by pedestrians and cyclists.

Growing traffic problems during the late 20th century into the noughties slowly exposed problems from the arrangement of these crossings. The harbor bridge, estimated to carry around 14,000 vehicles a day, is required to be raised several times each day to allow shipping to enter and exit the inner harbor situated in Lake Lothing, effectively causing traffic jams that increase the amount of time for drivers to be able to cross between the north and south side. In contrast, while the Mutford Bridge can create a similar problem, it is not regularly lifted, but due to the railway crossing north of the bridge along on the A1117, at the Oulton Broad North railway station, traffic is regularly stopped twice every hour for train services between Lowestoft and Norwich.

Although a third bridge crossing was first proposed back in 1918, just after the First World War ended, and was further requested due to increasing complaints on traffic problems around both crossings and concerns over the ever increasing maintenance work on the harbor bridge, no attempt was made to go forward with such a project, despite a search for a viable position along the 3 km stretch of water between the two crossings, and promises made by political candidates in local elections. It was not until 2020 that a proposal for the establishment of a third crossing was put forward, which tackled not only the crossing of the river, but the railway link from the town station to the Wherry and East Suffolk lines, with a high level bridge encompassing a bascule bridge section. Approval for the proposal was granted in April at a cost of £94 million, but by August that year the cost of construction had risen to £148 million through delays, the Covid-19 pandemic, and a desire to have a contingency fund "...should any unforeseen issues arise and caters for any further complications caused by coronavirus".

Gull Wing Bridge
The preparatory works for the bridge started in January 2021, with the official groundbreaking on 22 March 2021, after an unexploded ordnance survey was undertaken in the stretch of water beneath the bridge's location. The bridge will straddle the inner harbour, and connect Denmark Road and Peto Way on the north bank, with Waveney Drive on the south bank. Originally tendered to BAM Nuttall, the contract to build the bridge fell through and was re-tendered to Farrans.

Road Access to the bridge from the south will be along the B1351 (Waveney Drive), which has access to the A1117 road in the west, and the A12 road in the east. On the northern side, the road will access the A12 road, and the A47 road, as well as the A1114 road through either Denmark Road or Peto Way. The design of the bridge includes a foot and cycle path on both sides, with a single-lane of traffic in each direction (north/south) with a maximum speed limit of 30 MPH.

Some of the piles for the bridge foundations will be up to 60 m below ground level. The height of the bridge above high water will be 12 m, and at the northern end will have a 6 m clearance above the railway line into Lowestoft station. Whilst the space between the two main spans in the water will be 35 m, safety features fitted to the span walls will limit this to a maximum width of 32 m. The Gull Wing Bridge will be at a greater height above the water level than the existing bascule bridge at the eastern end of Lake Lothing; because of this, it is hoped the bridge will not be needed to be raised as many times per day, thereby causing less disruption to traffic. The design calls for a lifting section in the middle, which will raise southwards to allow ships to pass underneath. A traffic assessment indicated that approximately 10,000 vessels will need to go past the point of the bridge (10% less than the bascule bridge at the harbour mouth), but that the bridge will only need to be raised for 25% of the traffic passing.

The bascule span to the bridge is the largest of its kind in the world, with the J beams being more than 50m (164ft) above the sea. The bascule span itself is 39.5m (130ft) long, 22m (72ft) wide and 35m (115ft) tall.

The name of the bridge was decided upon after a local schools competition, and pupils from Somerleyton Primary School described the style of the bascule bridge posts as looking like a gull's wings.

Construction Timeline
February 2021 - Preparation works began

April 2021 - Construction began

June 2021 - Land piling works began

July 2021 - Marine piling works began

May 2022 - Colin Law Way access road opened

September 2021 - Waveney Drive junction is closed to all traffic

August 2022 - Piling for the bridge piers complete

October 2022 - Installation of first steel deck section (Northern Approach Viaduct 1) (NAV1)

November 2022 - Formal opening of Colin Law Way

January 2023 - Completion & Reopening of Southern Approach Roundabout / Waveney Drive

March 2023 - Denmark Road closes to all traffic March 2023 - Control tower structure built to full height

April 2023 - Installation of steel sections for NAV2 and NAV3, completing the Northern Approach

May 2023 - Installation of Southern Approach Viaducts (SAV) 1 - 4, completing the Southern Approach

October 2023 - Completion and Reopening of Northern Approach Roundabout & Improvements to Denmark Road

March 2024 - Installation of main lifting bascule span was completed

Reclassification of Roads
Due to the Gull Wing Bridge being designed to become part of the A12 road, several roads around Lowestoft face being reclassified to reflect the new primary route that will run through the town. These changes will include the following:


 * A stretch of the Waveney Drive that is encompassed by the B1531, between the Tom Crisp Roundabout and the new Gull Wing's southern roundabout, will be reclassified as part of the A12 on the southern side.
 * The A1117 will cease to exist within the town:
 * The stretch between Cotmer Road and Peto Way, encompassing Normanstan Drive, Bridge Road and Saltwater Way, will be reclassfied for the A146.
 * The stretch covering Millenium Way and Peto Way north of the Normanstan Drive roundabout will be reclassfied for the A12.
 * Peto Way south of the Normanstan Drive roundabout, and a portion of Denmark Road linking it to the new Gull Wing's northern roundabout, will be reclassified as part of the A12 route on the northern side.