Cobweb Bridge

The Cobweb Bridge, also known as Spider Bridge, is located in the city centre of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, near the disused Sheffield Victoria railway station. Completed in 2002, its design solves a difficult problem: passing the riverside cycle- and footpath (the Five Weirs Walk) under the massive Wicker Arches viaduct while linking one bank of the River Don to the other. Without the Cobweb Bridge, the footpath would have had to make a one-mile detour.[1][2][3]

Cobweb Bridge forms part of the Five Weirs Walk along the River Don from Blonk Street, near the centre of Sheffield, eastwards to Meadowhall. The bridge is held in place by a lattice-work of suspension and tensioning cables and sits over the waters of the Don and below the railway arches of the old Victoria Station, now long gone.

Designed by Sheffield City Council's Structures Section, the entire 330-foot (100 m) long bridge is suspended on a web of steel cables secured to the underside of the viaduct, hence the name. Completing the theme, large steel likenesses of spiders conceal the overhead lighting.

While the bridge has been prone to vandalism in the past (the wires forming the parapet having been stolen more than once), the bridge was repaired in 2015 to reduce the risk of future vandalism.[4] The newly restored bridge no longer uses wires in the parapet, having been replaced with metal plates with spiderweb designs.

See also

List of bridges in the United Kingdom

References

1. "Cobweb Bridge, Sheffield UK". cintec.co.uk. Archived from the original on 13 June 2012. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
2. "Completed Cobweb Bridge showing the spider covered lights". europeana.eu. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
3. "Cobweb bridge makes website". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
4. "Sheffield City Council - Cycle Schemes". Sheffield City Council. Archived from the original on 27 April 2015. Retrieved 19 April 2015.