MERSEY GATEWAY BRIDGE OPENING

KEY facts and trivia have captured the epic scale of the Mersey Gateway bridge project. Described as ‘staggering’ by Halton Borough Council leader Cllr Rob Polhill, the colossal scheme comes with a bumper file of statistical nuggets.

The bridge is 1km long and made predominantly of concrete and reinforced steel.

The deck is roughly 25m above the river bed and is around 2.2km long including the north and south approach viaducts. ● Although the main bridge is the centrepiece, the Mersey Gateway project also included:

9.2km of bridges and roads being developed with seven extra or upgraded junctions. Twelve bridges built across Halton. 810 miles of cables, almost enough to stretch from Lands End to John O’Groats.

The bridge has a weight-bearing capacity of 53,500 tonnes – enough to take the QE2 cruise ship.

239 massive beams, each up to 40 metres in length and weighing up to 106 tonnes, were used as well as 127,415 cubic metres of concrete.

The bridge has a 60mph speed limit and three lanes in each direction.

20m vehicles a year are expected to use the Mersey Gateway.

90,000 vehicles had registered for discounts or free crossings before it was due to open.

It will cost £1.86bn between 2014 and 2044 including design, build, finance, operation and maintenance.

The initial proposed cost was slashed by £250m.

Almost 5m work hours were spent on construction.

More than 25,000 staff from at least nine countries across the globe have worked on the project.

More than £129m of work was injected into the regional economy across hundreds of suppliers and sub-contractors

It is predicted to trigger the creation of an estimated 4,640 permanent jobs and generate £61.9m in gross added value by 2030. ● In terms of environmental benefits, a project spokesman said the scheme has

Made 1,423,250 tonnes of contami-