Work on Leeds Bridge.

Bunkers, shelters and other buildings
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Leodian
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Work on Leeds Bridge.

Post by Leodian »

Maintenance work has recently started on Leeds Bridge. Security fencing at the work makes it difficult to get good photos but these are 3 of the photos that I have taken by holding my camera up against the security fencing and hoping something reasonable resulted! The first was taken on February 20 2018 and shows work on the bridge. The second was taken on January 30 2018 and shows the Leeds Coat of Arms was then still on the bridge. The third was taken on February 20 2018 and shows that the Coat of Arms has been removed at some stage.

PS. The clock in the first photo has stopped for some while now so the time it shows is wrong as that photo was taken at 12:36.
WorkOnLeedsBridgeLeedsFeb202018..jpg
WorkOnLeedsBridgeLeedsFeb202018..jpg (127.61 KiB) Viewed 10383 times
WorkOnLeedsBridgeJan302018OldCoatOfArmsThere..jpg
WorkOnLeedsBridgeJan302018OldCoatOfArmsThere..jpg (131.14 KiB) Viewed 10383 times
WorkOnLeedsBridgeFeb202018OldCoatOfArmsRemoved..jpg
WorkOnLeedsBridgeFeb202018OldCoatOfArmsRemoved..jpg (111.16 KiB) Viewed 10383 times
A rainbow is a ribbon that Nature puts on when she washes her hair.

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tilly
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Re: Work on Leeds Bridge.

Post by tilly »

Well done Leodian its nice to see the bridge infrastructure i never thought what it was like under the tarmac.
No matter were i end my days im an Hunslet lad with Hunslet ways.

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tyke bhoy
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Re: Work on Leeds Bridge.

Post by tyke bhoy »

Thanks Leodian. Did you by any chance notice the traffic arrangements and how they are working? As I understand it the only northbound traffic permitted are cycles and the Elland Road P&R PR1. Obviously southbound traffic must currently be using the northbound side of the bridge. A normal two way contraflow light would seem rather heavy-handed for a bus every 10 minutes and a few cyclists in that time
living a stones throw from the Leeds MDC border at Lofthousehttp://tykebhoy.wordpress.com/

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Leodian
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Re: Work on Leeds Bridge.

Post by Leodian »

tilly wrote:Well done Leodian its nice to see the bridge infrastructure i never thought what it was like under the tarmac.
Thanks tilly :).
A rainbow is a ribbon that Nature puts on when she washes her hair.

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Leodian
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Re: Work on Leeds Bridge.

Post by Leodian »

tyke bhoy wrote:Thanks Leodian. Did you by any chance notice the traffic arrangements and how they are working? As I understand it the only northbound traffic permitted are cycles and the Elland Road P&R PR1. Obviously southbound traffic must currently be using the northbound side of the bridge. A normal two way contraflow light would seem rather heavy-handed for a bus every 10 minutes and a few cyclists in that time
Hi tyke bhoy :).

These are 3 photos that I have taken that show the traffic control at the work. The first two were taken on January 23 2018 looking south. The first shows ordinary traffic can go south but only on its right hand side across the bridge. The second shows a Park & Ride service bus going north on its left hand side as they (as far as I'm aware) are the only normal traffic that are allowed to go that way. The third photo was taken on January 30 2018 and shows a view looking north.
LeedsBridgeWorkLookingSouthJan232018(1)..jpg
LeedsBridgeWorkLookingSouthJan232018(1)..jpg (117.76 KiB) Viewed 10288 times
LeedsBridgeWorkLookingSouthJan232018(2)..jpg
LeedsBridgeWorkLookingSouthJan232018(2)..jpg (107.54 KiB) Viewed 10288 times
LeedsBridgeWorkLookingNorthJan302018..jpg
LeedsBridgeWorkLookingNorthJan302018..jpg (107.92 KiB) Viewed 10288 times
A rainbow is a ribbon that Nature puts on when she washes her hair.

johnnyg
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Re: Work on Leeds Bridge.

Post by johnnyg »

Well captured Leodian. That first shot shows the steel buckle plates that make up the deck of the bridge. They do not make bridges any more with steel buckle plates so it a rare capture indeed.

Historic England describe the bridge as follows:
Road bridge over River Aire. 1870-73. By T Dyne Steel, engineer. Steel buckle plate deck supported on wrought-iron internal arch ribs of compound riveted section; cast-iron fascia arch ribs, rusticated ashlar abutments. Segmental arch with scrolled motif in spandrels, parapet with interlocking circles and moulded rail; coat of arms of Leeds at centre. The oldest crossing point in the town, the site of the medieval and later cloth markets and until 1818 the only dry crossing of the river. The Aire was bridged at 5 other points between 1818 and 1870 but it was estimated (c1869) that each Saturday 4,000 vehicles and 55,000 foot passengers crossed Leeds Bridge into the town. The cost of replacement was more than £50,000 and many of the buildings on the approach roads south of the river were replaced at that time. (Fraser D: A History of Modern Leeds: 1980-: 137; Construction details supplied by LCC Highways).

An odd thing about Leeds Bridge is that it has steel kerbs, as shown in the image below taken in 2008. I think the kerb may be the upstand of the steel buckle plate and is probably there to protect the stone paving from the iron cart and carriage wheels that would have been around at the time.
Attachments
Leeds Bridge Kerb.jpg
Leeds Bridge Kerb.jpg (992.9 KiB) Viewed 10231 times

johnnyg
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Re: Work on Leeds Bridge.

Post by johnnyg »

Moving away from the topic of Leeds Bridge a little, but still connected by the steel kerbs, Bristol is the only other place that I have seen iron or steel kerbs, as shown in the two other photos below. In Bristol, iron kerbs were still being installed in the early 20th Century, when they were made by the Douglas Company of Kingswood. They used surplus metal left over from manufacture of their famous motorcycles. Southampton apparently also has some iron kerbing in the city centre.
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Iron kerbing and cobbles - Bristol.jpg
Iron kerbing and cobbles - Bristol.jpg (1.62 MiB) Viewed 10232 times
Iron kerbing in Bristol.jpg
Iron kerbing in Bristol.jpg (1.72 MiB) Viewed 10232 times

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tilly
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Re: Work on Leeds Bridge.

Post by tilly »

The steel work has stood the riggers of time bet they use concrete now on new builds.
No matter were i end my days im an Hunslet lad with Hunslet ways.

volvojack
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Re: Work on Leeds Bridge.

Post by volvojack »

johnnyg
Regarding your mention of steel being used for kerb edging in Bristol reminds me that when we lived in Westbury on Trym we used to go to " The Bowl " pub at Almondsbury once a week and one evening I went to park by the Churchyard and although I had very strong tyres on my Volvo I discovered that one tyre had gone down. I called out the A.A. and when they came out he showed me that one tyre was damaged by the steel kerb similar to the picture you have shown. he soon fitted the spare but the following day the garage showed me how the tyre was unrepairable.
Have never noticed / seen this kerbside edging anywhere else.

johnnyg
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Re: Work on Leeds Bridge.

Post by johnnyg »

Cheers Volvojack. It seems it may be more common than thought over here. A quick search on Flick has brought up examples in Ironbridge, Manchester, Tewkesbury. Tanworth Borough Council has some and possibly in Axbridge in Somerset as well.

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