July 23, 2009: Tilt Bridge

[xoxoxoBruce]

No, not Grandma's dentures when she nods off, a real bridge.

Gateshead Millennium Bridge, as a matter of fact.



Now they could have built a drawbridge like everyone else, but nooooooo.

The award winning $44 million Gateshead Millennium Bridge is the first and only tilting bridge in the world. Hydraulic rams at each end of the bridge allow it to tilt so small ships may pass through, and it is this innovative technology which won its designers the prestigious Stirling Prize for architecture in 2002. Thanks to the 19,000 tonnes of concrete poured into 98ft deep foundations and enough steel to build 64 double decker buses, the bridge can withstand a collision with a 4,000 tonne ship moving at 4 knots.

Bet the spoilsports make everyone get off before they tilt it though.