Assisting the Progress of Mersey Cross-river Traffic.
Page 51
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MANY of the principal road-transport interests of south-west Lancashire were represented at the opening of the new floating roadway which has just been constructed by the Wallasey Corporation at Seacombe Ferry. The opening . ceremony was performed by Lord Derby, This new bridge, which has a three-section carriageway, connects. thO' landing stage (where goods vehicular traffic is discharged from the ferry -boats) with the Pier Head, and it is claimed that this is the largest bridge of its type in existence. Even on the Liverpool side of the river the floating 'bridge has only two carriageways and, obviously, when used by all kind S of fast and slow traffic, the rate of travel is that of the slowest vehicle.
The great virtue of the Seacombe floating roadway' is that when vehicles are discharged from the boat, the fast traffic can make use of one carriageway and the slow traffic the other, the third being reserved fat down traffic.
Vehicular traffic is not only 100 times greater than in 1880, but the average weights are nearly twice as great. Up to a few days ago hydraulic lifts were used for the transference of vehicles from the Pier Head to the landing stage. This was a useful aid to progress at times when the low tide gave the rigid bridges a very steep gradient. The hydraulic lifts have now been dispensed with.
The total cost of the improvement scheme is about £180,000. The floating bridge is 600 ft. in length and 56 ft. wide. It is built in five spans, linked together, and to the stage and shore by six suspended spans. Each of the floating spans is supported on eight steel pontoons.
The south part of the Seacombe landing stage will accommodate vehicles of 30 tons weicht and with a maximum axle weight of 20 tons. A glance backward to the year 1876 shows how phenomenal has been the growth of Mersey crass-river vehicular traffic, Fifty years ago roughly 1,000 vehicles a year crossed from Liverpool to Seacombe. To-day the figure is nearly 300.000.
The opening ceremony was witnessed by mayors from many of the surrounding municipalities. At the luncheon which followed, Wallasey was congratulated on its enterprise and foresight in carrying through such an undertaking. Councillor Canner, chief of the Wallasey Ferries Committee; said that the new floating roadway was an excellent investment and it had been built Well in advance of its tithe: He believed it would take all possible traffic for the next 30 or 40 Years. :
Mr. T. Rome, chairman of the Mersey Docks and Harbour Beard, said that the bridge would considerably facilitate cross-river vehicular traffic: He believed that many road users would prefer travelling to North Wales via Wallasey as an alternative to Birkenhead.