We were all tired during lunch, here we are at Gateshead having lunch by the Millennium bridge. Here are a few interesting facts for you –
36,000 people lined the banks of the River Tyne to watch the bridge tilt for the first time on 28 June 2001
Contains enough steel to make 64 double decker buses or 16 Chieftain tanks
Cost £22m to build
Each opening and closing takes four and a half minutes
Cleans up its own litter – anything dropped on the deck automatically rolls into special traps at each end of the bridge each time it opens
Can withstand a collision from a 4,000 tonne ship travelling at 4 knots
Has concrete foundations stretching to 30 metres, anchoring it to the river bed
Is powered by eight electric motors – enough power to run more than eight Ford Focus cars
Sits on 19,000 tonnes of concrete
Stretches 126 metres across the River Tyne
Was lowered into place by Europe’s largest floating crane – Asian Hercules II
The very top of the arch stands 50 metres above the River Tyne when in its normal state
Weighs more than 800 tonnes
Is adjacent to an area called Baltic Square: an open-air performance space which has been host to a number of high profile events such as the first ever Top Of The Pops outdoor event in July 2004, Orange Evolution music festival 2005.
Has been used in numerous television, film and media projects such as 55 Degrees North (BBC), the national football film GOAL! (GOAL Productions) and on the front cover of Bentley magazine
The Gateshead Millennium Bridge appeared on a pound
coin from the Royal Mint in 2007, representing England.
