Britannia Bridge - Fire and Reconstruction

Fire and Reconstruction

During the evening of 23 May 1970 the bridge was greatly damaged when boys playing inside the bridge dropped a burning torch, setting alight the tar-coated wooden roof of the tubes (see Britannia Bridge Official Fire Report, BBC News video). Despite the best efforts of the Caernarfonshire and Anglesey fire brigades, the bridge's height, construction and the lack of an adequate water supply meant they were unable to control the fire which spread all the way across from the mainland to the Anglesey side. After the fire had burned itself out the bridge was still standing but the structural integrity of the iron tubes had been fatally compromised by the intense heat. As a consequence the bridge was completely rebuilt by Husband & Co.

The new design was for an arched bridge. Concrete supports were built under the approach spans and steel archways constructed under the long spans either side of the central Britannia Tower. The bridge reopened to rail traffic (albeit with only a single line of rails and with reduced speed) on 30 January 1972. Over subsequent months the original box tubes were removed and the stonework of the towers was restored. The original deck below the rail lines was cosmetically restored.

In 1980, almost 10 years after the fire, the upper road level opened, carrying a single-carriageway section of the A55 road.