King Edward Bridge
The King Edward VII Bridge spans the
River Tyne between Newcastle upon Tyne and Gateshead. It was designed and engineered by Charles A.
Harrison, the Chief Civil Engineer of the North Eastern Railway, and
built by the Cleveland Bridge & Engineering Company in Darlington.
Construction began in July 1902; the bridge was opened by King Edward
VII and Queen Alexandra on 10 July 1906.
It consists of four lattice steel spans resting on very substantial concrete piers. The total length of the bridge is 350 m.
The new bridge, together with the High Level completed a loop of railway tracks using both sides of the Tyne making train movements easier. Trains from north or south of Newcastle could now enter or leave via the new bridge and the west end of Central Station, which now became a through station for north-south trains. At the Gateshead end are two viaducts, one turning west and one east so that trains can be sent in either direction.