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MENAI STRAITS

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Originally appearing in Volume V18, Page 109 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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MENAI STRAITS , a channel of the Irish See also:

Sea, separating Anglesea from See also:Carnarvonshire, N. See also:Wales, extending 14 M. from See also:Beaumaris to Abermenai, and varying in breadth from 200 yds. to 2 in. It is famous for the suspension and tubular See also:bridges which See also:cross it. The suspension See also:bridge carries the See also:Holyhead road from See also:Bangor. Designs were prepared by T. See also:Telford. It was begun in 1819; the first See also:chain carried over in See also:April 1825; the last in See also:July of the same See also:year, and the bridge opened to the public the 3oth of See also:January 1826. The cost was £120,000. The length of the chains (from See also:rock-fastenings) is 1715 ft., and between the piers 590 ft.; the length of the roadway between the piers is 550 ft. and the See also:total roadway length moo ft.; the height of the roadway from the See also:spring See also:tide high-See also:water level is too ft.; the breadth of the roadway including two See also:carriage-ways and a footpath is 30 ft. The sixteen suspending chains are carried 6o ft. through rock. Their sustaining See also:power has been calculated at 2026 tons, while the whole See also:weight of the suspended See also:part of the bridge is only 489 tons. During a See also:gale a slight oscillation is noticeable on the bridge itself and from the See also:shore.

The tubular bridge carries the See also:

London & See also:North Western railway. Here the channel is about 'too ft. wide, and divided in the See also:middle by the Britannia Rock, See also:bare at See also:low water. The tide generally rises 20 ft., with See also:great velocity. The See also:principal measurements are: each See also:abutment 176 ft.; from abutment to See also:side See also:tower, 230 ft.; from side tower to central tower, 46o ft.; breadth of each side tower at road-level, 32 ft.; breadth of centre tower, 45 ft. 5 in. The total length of the roadway is 1841 ft. 5 in. The Britannia tower See also:measures at its See also:base 62 by 523 ft.; with a total height of 230 ft. There are tot ft. between the sea at high tide and the bridge roadway bottom. The See also:limestone used is from Penmon, 4 M. from Beaumaris. Four See also:stone lions couchant guard the approaches to the bridge. The first See also:tube of the tubular bridge was deposited in its See also:place on the 9th of See also:November 1849, the last on the 13th of See also:September 185o.

The total cost was £621,865. The engineer of the tubular bridge was See also:

Robert See also:Stephenson, who was assisted by See also:Sir See also:William See also:Fairbairn and See also:Eaton See also:Hodgkinson.

End of Article: MENAI STRAITS

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