Time to call time on the Transporter? Why waste 7M to reopen it to traffic? After 109 years its no longer fit for purpose.

I am surprised that this even needs considering.

The Transporter is Middlesbrough and is a great piece of engineering from our past. Only recently on here people wanted the coke ovens saving for heritage yet some have asked for it to be ripped down. I always go that way when out on the bike and have spoken to many other visitors from far and wide who have come to marvel at it.

Yes, I agree it is not fit for purpose and a tunnel crossing (toll) should have been put in place years back. There was always talk of a tunnel being put in place between the Tranny and South Bank. Surely during this calamity of Brexit, we should build our infrastructure, creating jobs to keep the country going.
 
Meanwhile Hammersmith Bridge has been closed since 2019 because serious structural defects were found - and so far it is estimated 141,000,000 GBP`s will be required to repair it!
Hammersmith Bridge.jpeg
 

Future of the Transporter Bridge to be discussed | Middlesbrough Council

A new chapter in the history of the Transporter Bridge would be decided following a public consultation, under plans to be put to Middlesbrough Council’s Executive. The bridge, which opened in 1911, has been closed for 16 months due to serious safety concerns.
www.middlesbrough.gov.uk www.middlesbrough.gov.uk

This is the text published by Middlesbrough Council regarding the current situation vis-a-vis the Transporter [The Gazette article omitted some important details, which are relevant].
​
A new chapter in the history of the Transporter Bridge would be decided following a public consultation, under plans to be put to Middlesbrough Council’s Executive.
The bridge, which opened in 1911, has been closed for 16 months due to serious safety concerns.

In its current state, the bridge is unusable for any purpose. An audit report uncovered failings in the management and maintenance of the bridge over a number of years.
The Council’s Executive will be asked to approve £655,000 being spent on urgent repair work before a decision is made on its long-term use.

The Council has already committed £377,000 to make the bridge safe, park the gondola and carry out inspections.

A report to Executive will outline that the cost of the Grade-II listed bridge being open purely as a visitor attraction would be around £4m over a 10-year period.
That model would allow visitors to use the lift offering incredible views of the Middlesbrough area.

The full cost of reopening the bridge to traffic at rush hour could be over £7m across the same 10-year timeframe.

Middlesbrough Mayor Andy Preston said: “The Transporter Bridge is part of who we are and we will always preserve and protect this special part of Teesside.
“Exactly what role it will play for the next 100 years is a decision we should all consider together.”

The report sets out how a consultation on the bridge’s future, taking into account its local significance and the estimated costs of ongoing maintenance, would follow the initial urgent repairs.

The consultation would include detailed discussions with Stockton Council, the Department for Transport, Historic England and the Heritage Lottery Fund.
The Transporter was closed in August 2019 following a safety inspection.

Before a principal inspection commissioned during that summer, the previous such inspection took place in 2011. It is recommended that inspections take place a minimum of every six years.

Concerns regarding health and safety and the overall maintenance and management regime for the bridge were received by the Council’s internal auditor in August 2019.
A subsequent investigation by auditors found cause for considerable concern.

While no evidence was found that requests for maintenance or closures were refused, the audit identified a “mostly passive and ineffective” management approach to the bridge over the previous decade.

The audit found that the lack of specifically qualified or trained engineering staff ultimately led to the bridge deteriorating to the extent it presented a health and safety risk.
Auditors set out 10 findings, seven of which were deemed ‘Priority 1’, meaning there was a “fundamental risk requiring immediate action”.

The audit noted improvements to working practices following the transfer of bridge management from the Transport and Infrastructure department to Property and Commercial Services.

As a result of the failures identified in the audit report, the Council is proposing a review of its system for assessing the condition of other buildings and structures.

The audit report findings will be presented to the Council’s Corporate Affairs and Audit Committee on December 17.

The Council’s Executive will discuss the future of the Transporter Bridge on December 22.

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This is the 2018 - 2028 Transport Strategy for Middlesbrough.
Middlesbrough Transport Strategy.jpg

It is an "overall" "overview" rather than specific and like all plans is subject to available funding and support from local partners / councils and Central Government.

----------------------------------------------------------------
​
 
HolgateCorner said:
I think it should be kept in working order.

As time goes on it will become more and more valuable as a tourist attraction and will pay for itself.

I would liken it to Whitby. Whitby is like a living museum but when I was a kid we used to go on bank holidays, park in the cliff top car park go to the beach, have the fish and chips and wander about. It was no big deal then. But 50 years on and it is rammed even in winter because it is unique and unchanged in a world which has moved on.

We need to preserve these things and the Transporter is something which is that little bit different.
Click to expand...
This is a great post 👍🏻
 
r00fie1 said:
No way The Transporter should be mothballed or turned into a museum piece.
My opening post echoed the sentiments in the Gazette, because I already knew the reaction.
Boris chuffing Johnson spent 1,000, 000 on a paint job on his Prime Ministerial Aeroplane!
7 Million in comparison is nowt - and The Bridge will be recognised for the sweated labour and skilled workers who "built the world" - which is more than can be said for that twit!! :mad:
Click to expand...
Yes, agreed.£7M is small fry in the scheme of things. But nobody outside of the area really knows about our history or gives two figs about it's decline. Boris says he wants to level things, we shall see whenever normality resumes.IE capital project, bridges green energy parks etc The Transporter has to be self funding 'historic' project. It's effectiveness as a river crossing is limited
 
Last edited:
r00fie1 said:

Future of the Transporter Bridge to be discussed | Middlesbrough Council

A new chapter in the history of the Transporter Bridge would be decided following a public consultation, under plans to be put to Middlesbrough Council’s Executive. The bridge, which opened in 1911, has been closed for 16 months due to serious safety concerns.
www.middlesbrough.gov.uk www.middlesbrough.gov.uk

This is the text published by Middlesbrough Council regarding the current situation vis-a-vis the Transporter [The Gazette article omitted some important details, which are relevant].
​
A new chapter in the history of the Transporter Bridge would be decided following a public consultation, under plans to be put to Middlesbrough Council’s Executive.
The bridge, which opened in 1911, has been closed for 16 months due to serious safety concerns.

In its current state, the bridge is unusable for any purpose. An audit report uncovered failings in the management and maintenance of the bridge over a number of years.
The Council’s Executive will be asked to approve £655,000 being spent on urgent repair work before a decision is made on its long-term use.

The Council has already committed £377,000 to make the bridge safe, park the gondola and carry out inspections.

A report to Executive will outline that the cost of the Grade-II listed bridge being open purely as a visitor attraction would be around £4m over a 10-year period.
That model would allow visitors to use the lift offering incredible views of the Middlesbrough area.

The full cost of reopening the bridge to traffic at rush hour could be over £7m across the same 10-year timeframe.

Middlesbrough Mayor Andy Preston said: “The Transporter Bridge is part of who we are and we will always preserve and protect this special part of Teesside.
“Exactly what role it will play for the next 100 years is a decision we should all consider together.”

The report sets out how a consultation on the bridge’s future, taking into account its local significance and the estimated costs of ongoing maintenance, would follow the initial urgent repairs.

The consultation would include detailed discussions with Stockton Council, the Department for Transport, Historic England and the Heritage Lottery Fund.
The Transporter was closed in August 2019 following a safety inspection.

Before a principal inspection commissioned during that summer, the previous such inspection took place in 2011. It is recommended that inspections take place a minimum of every six years.

Concerns regarding health and safety and the overall maintenance and management regime for the bridge were received by the Council’s internal auditor in August 2019.
A subsequent investigation by auditors found cause for considerable concern.

While no evidence was found that requests for maintenance or closures were refused, the audit identified a “mostly passive and ineffective” management approach to the bridge over the previous decade.

The audit found that the lack of specifically qualified or trained engineering staff ultimately led to the bridge deteriorating to the extent it presented a health and safety risk.
Auditors set out 10 findings, seven of which were deemed ‘Priority 1’, meaning there was a “fundamental risk requiring immediate action”.

The audit noted improvements to working practices following the transfer of bridge management from the Transport and Infrastructure department to Property and Commercial Services.

As a result of the failures identified in the audit report, the Council is proposing a review of its system for assessing the condition of other buildings and structures.

The audit report findings will be presented to the Council’s Corporate Affairs and Audit Committee on December 17.

The Council’s Executive will discuss the future of the Transporter Bridge on December 22.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------​

This is the 2018 - 2028 Transport Strategy for Middlesbrough.
View attachment 10285

It is an "overall" "overview" rather than specific and like all plans is subject to available funding and support from local partners / councils and Central Government.

----------------------------------------------------------------
​
Click to expand...

Are they running a shuttle bus from the station to the Transporter?
 
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