Bishop's Bridge

Bishop's Bridge, sometimes known as Paddington Bridge, is a road bridge in the Paddington district of London which carries Bishop's Bridge Road across the rail approaches to Paddington Station and across the adjacent Paddington Arm of the Grand Union Canal. A replacement of the original bridge, which was narrow, causing traffic congestion, and was not strong enough to carry buses, was built by HOCHTIEF and was re-opened to traffic at 4am on 14 June 2006.[1] The new design includes a taxi waiting area, extending nearly the full length of the bridge, and connecting with the approach to the station's taxi pick-up point.

Following the reconstruction, bus routes 15 (in August 2010 replaced here by route 159[2]), 46 and 332 ran across the bridge.

The name Bishop's Bridge Road comes from the manor of Paddington which was granted to the Bishop of London, Nicholas Ridley, by Edward VI in the mid 16th Century.

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Brunel's first iron bridge

In 2003 while researching a book about the station, Steven Brindle, Inspector of Ancient Monuments for English Heritage (London region) discovered that Isambard Kingdom Brunel was responsible for the original Bishop's Bridge,[3] and that the section he built over the canal was his first iron bridge and had a unique design.

Unaware that they were intending to replace the bridge, by the time Brindle contacted Westminster City Council, their planning of the replacement project was at an advanced stage, with the main contract due to be signed the following week, and demolition due to take place 10 months later.

Investigations determined that the canal section of Brunel's 1839 bridge had survived, as rebuilding work in 1906 had merely obscured it and caused it to be forgotten. Negotiations between the council and English Heritage followed, and it was agreed that the 1839 iron bridge would be dismantled with a view to future reconstruction.[4] The bulk of the dismantling work took place in April 2004, allowing the bridge replacement work to proceed as planned.

An application for Planning Permission to reconstruct the original iron bridge 200 yards along the canal was submitted in April 2006.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Bishop's Bridge Replacement". Always Touch Out. 2007-01-28. http://www.alwaystouchout.com/project/52. Retrieved 2008-08-31. 
  2. ^ "Streets ahead: Relieving congestion on Oxford Street, Regent Street and Bond Street". London Assembly Transport Committee. 2010-02-04. http://legacy.london.gov.uk/assembly/transport/2010/mar02/item06a.pdf. Retrieved 2010-05-09.  See Appendix 1.
  3. ^ Brindle, Steven (2006). "Brunel's Paddington Bridge: The discovery and saving of the Paddington Canal Bridge". Paddington Waterways and Maida Vale Society. http://www.paddingtonwaterways.com/archive.php?amend=1&id=15. Retrieved 2008-08-31. 
  4. ^ Russell, Helena (2004-05-28). "Paddington bare". Bridge Design & Engineering. http://www.bridgeweb.com/news/fullstory.php/aid/527/Paddington_bare.html. Retrieved 2008-08-31. 

External links