Langstone Bridge (also known asHayling Bridge) connectsHayling Island with theEnglish mainland ofHampshire.
The name of the bridge is derived from its location at the coastal village ofLangstone.
Historically connection was by a causeway known as the Wadeway; this was severed by the construction of thePortsmouth and Arundel Canal.[1][2]
TheWadeway orWade Way is an original and historic causeway toHayling Island; however, it is now impassable, having been cut in two by a deep channel for the Portsmouth and Chichester Canal in the 1820s.[3] It was classified as a bridleway in 1988, and is shown as such on modern Ordnance Survey maps[4] in spite of its use being considered hazardous at best.[5] Excavation of this feature in 2006, constructed on a natural high point in the harbour, put its date in the Roman to medieval range but found no evidence to be more specific.[6]
The canal company funded a replacement wooden road bridge served by a toll-house situated at the northern end. There was a weight limit and after World War 2 only single-decker buses were allowed across; if they were carrying too many passengers some had to get out and walk, regardless of the weather, to reduce axle-weight. The old wooden bridge was demolished following construction of a concrete bridge in the late 1950s.
A replacement concrete bridge opened in 1956, initially still as a toll bridge. The new bridge is owned byHampshire County Council and was operated without tolls from April 1960.[7][8] The construction work on the new bridge was carried out by Christiani and Nielsen.[8][9]
A railway bridge was constructed for theHayling Island branch line in the 1860s. This became disused after the railway's closure and the remains survive to the west of the current bridge.
50°50.071′N00°58.709′W / 50.834517°N 0.978483°W /50.834517; -0.978483
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