Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, River Tyne

This article is about the metro rail bridge in Newcastle upon Tyne. For other bridges named after Queen Elizabeth, see Queen Elizabeth Bridge (disambiguation).

The Queen Elizabeth II Bridge carries the Tyne and Wear Metro between Newcastle upon Tyne and Gateshead over the River Tyne in North East England. The line is in tunnels on either side of the river and only emerges into open air to cross the bridge.

Queen Elizabeth II Metro Bridge
The Queen Elizabeth II Metro Bridge in 2013
Coordinates	54.9645°N 1.6139°W / 54.9645; -1.6139
OS grid reference	NZ247634
Carries	Tyne and Wear Metro
Crosses	River Tyne
Locale	Tyneside
Official name	Queen Elizabeth II Bridge
Owner	Nexus
Maintained by	Nexus Rail
Characteristics
Design	Steel truss construction with fabricated box chords[1]
Total length	352.7 m (1,157 ft)[1]
Width	10.31 m (33.8 ft)
Longest span	164.7 m (540 ft)
Clearance below	25 m (82 ft)
Rail characteristics
No. of tracks	2
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
Electrified	1500 V DC
History
Designer	W. A. Fairhurst & Partners
Constructed by	Cementation Construction Ltd Cleveland Bridge & Engineering Company
Construction start	1976 [1]
Construction end	August 1978 [2]
Opened	15 November 1981 (1981-11-15)[1]
Inaugurated	6 November 1981 by Queen Elizabeth II
Location

v t e Railways between Newcastle and Gateshead
Legend
Tyne and Wear Metro to Monument East Coast Main Line to Morpeth Central Station Tyne Valley Line to Scotswood Newcastle King Edward VII Bridge High Level Bridge River Tyne QEII Metro Bridge Gateshead Tyne Valley Line to MetroCentre Gateshead Interchange East Coast Main Line to Durham Durham Coast Line to Heworth Tyne and Wear Metro to Gateshead Stadium

History

The bridge under construction in 1978

The bridge was developed as part of the Tyne and Wear Metro system, for which it was purpose-built. It was designed by W. A. Fairhurst & Partners, and constructed by Cementation Construction Ltd. and the Cleveland Bridge & Engineering Company at a cost of £4.9 million.^[1] The two sections of the bridge were built simultaneously from each bank and eventually met in the centre in August 1978.^[3] It was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 6 November 1981, nine days before regular Metro service began.^[1] It is similar to Ballachulish Bridge on the A82 which opened in 1975, which was also built by the Cleveland Bridge & Engineering Company.

It was one of two major bridges built specifically for the Tyne and Wear Metro, the other being the Byker Viaduct crossing the Ouseburn valley.^[4]

Nocturne artwork

In 2006, Nexus, operators of the Metro, commissioned artist Nayan Kulkarni to install a huge artwork on the bridge. The artwork, Nocturne, sees the bridge painted two distinct tones of blue, while at night, 140 Lumiflood 36 LED lighting units^[5] create an ever-changing pattern of colours based on photographs submitted by members of the public.^[5]

Nocturne was completed and opened on 26 April 2007^[6] and means that all five main bridges across the Tyne between Gateshead and Newcastle have unique lighting schemes. However, as of 2021 the lighting system is not operational, with Nexus citing operational costs.