Newport Transporter Bridge - an historical perspective

Exactly 100 years ago French suspension bridge expert Ferdinand Arnodin was commissioned to design the Newport Transporter Bridge in south Wales, one of the world's few surviving aerial ferries. Completed in 1906, the crossin g was substantially refurbished in 1995 and is now a grade I listed structu re. This paper reviews the historical development of this rare and unusual bridge-which uses both cable-stayed and parabolic suspension systems-and sh ows that Arnodin was right at the cutting edge of civil engineering develop ment at the beginning of the last century.