News / Transport
Bristol’s second bridge to nowhere opens
It was meant to connect St Philip’s with Arena Island. But a new bridge over the River Avon now leads to precisely nowhere, with views of a still empty patch of land from inside a small metal cage.
In architects’ plans, St Philip’s Footbridge was gleaming in the sunshine as it carried music fans to the proposed arena.
As a new piece of infrastructure, it’s impressive; a Y-shaped build including steps and a long ramp to enable bicycles, buggies and wheelchair to join the bridge, which offers marvellous new views across to Totterdown.
is needed now More than ever
Yet it’s a form of cruel and unusual punishment to be initially planned to serve an arena which will probably never be built here; instead offering the closest view yet to what might have been.
St Philip’s Footbridge was originally planned to connect St Philip’s to Bristol Arena
The bridge is now open – but all it leads to is a metal cage
The new bridge skilfully accommodates the height difference between the two riverbanks
The Y-shaped structure was assembled on site and lifted into place by a huge mobile crane
The steel plated structure designed by Knight Architects accommodates the height difference between the two riverbanks, with greenery on one side and a Victorian masonry wall on the other.
The 52-metre long and four-metre wide bridge was fabricated in sections by SH Structures in North Yorkshire facility and then assembled on site before being lifted into place by mobile crane.
With the opening of the bridge, the River Avon Path has also been upgraded with a new surface and new lighting, and the section of the path reopened between Victor Street and the other ‘bridge to nowhere’ on Cattle Market Road.
With the opening of the bridge, a section of the River Avon Path has also been upgraded
The steel plated structure was designed by Knight Architects
There is both a ramp and steps to access the bridge
There are no longer any more references on the Temple Quarter website to the new bridge’s original purpose to link to an arena, which Bristol mayor Marvin Rees officially scrapped in September 2018.
The latest plans for the site – now officially known as Temple Island – from property investor Legal & General are for a huge housing development.
The scheme would see 550 homes, a 345-room hotel, a large-capacity conference centre and two office blocks built on the two-hectare site.
Legal & General say that it wants to “create a vibrant new quarter of the city with a focus on social inclusion through affordable housing, training and employment”.
The newly opened St Philip’s Footbridge can be seen towards the bottom of Legal & General’s proposed vision for Temple Island
Read more: Further details revealed of Arena Island plans with no arena
Our top newsletters emailed directly to you
