Brock's Bridge is a road bridge in Bristol, UK that crosses the River Avon.[1] It was built to provide road access to a former railway depot that was the original planned site of the Bristol Arena.

Brock's Bridge
Coordinates51°26′51.91″N 2°34′39.84″W / 51.4477528°N 2.5777333°W / 51.4477528; -2.5777333
CrossesRiver Avon
Preceded bySt Philip's Footbridge
History
Construction end2016
Location
Map

History

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Fenced off entrance to the bridge in 2022

In March 2016, the bridge was officially named Brock's Bridge, after William Brock (1830-1907), an engineer from Totterdown.[1] A plaque was unveiled on 16 March.[2][3][4] However, the bridge is not yet open.[5] In 2018 the arena plans were scrapped in favour of an arena in a former aircraft hangar at Filton Airfield. The "Arena Island" site remains under development with plans for apartments, a hotel and conference centre, but as of 2023 the bridge remained a "bridge to nowhere"[6][7]


Design

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The bridge is 63 metres (207 feet) long and 18 metres (59 feet) wide. It was assembled from site from 137 pieces of steel.[8]

References

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  1. ^ a b Belec, Jelena (2016-03-16). "Arena bridge named after famous engineer". Bristol24/7. Retrieved 2022-12-08.
  2. ^ "Bristol bridge named after Victorian builder William Brock". BBC News. 2016-03-17. Retrieved 2022-12-08.
  3. ^ Belec, Jelena (2016-03-16). "Arena bridge named after famous engineer". Bristol24/7. Retrieved 2022-12-08.
  4. ^ "Brock's Bridge named after Okehampton born William | okehampton-today.co.uk". Okehampton Times. 2016-03-25. Retrieved 2022-12-08.
  5. ^ Pipe, Ellie (2017-03-16). "Bristol's £11.3m 'bridge to nowhere'". Bristol24/7. Retrieved 2022-12-08.
  6. ^ Cork, Tristan (28 February 2023). "Developers finally move forward with 'Temple Island' plans including 500 homes, hotel and conference centre". Bristol Live. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  7. ^ Swallow, Bea (12 March 2024). "Bristol: Latest images of £350m regeneration revealed". BBC News. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  8. ^ "Welcome to Arena Island: Arena Island Bridge in facts and figures". Bristol Temple Quarter Enterprise Zone. 2015-08-24. Retrieved 2022-12-08.