Mersey Gateway bridge

Friday
We had a very good flight overnight from Philadelphia to Manchester - we left on time, the flight was very smooth, and we arrived in Manchester to sunshine - that must be a first! However, having pulled up to the gate, we were waiting quite a while before we could get off, as they were having problems with the jetway. Our eldest daughter Jen was flying in from Salt Lake City, via Chicago, and arrived within 10 minutes of us! Usually we have had no great delay going through immigration at Manchester, but today we were arriving at a different terminal to usual, and there was a long, slow-moving line. We then discovered they have moved all the rental car companies to a separate site since we were last at the airport, so we had to wait for a bus to take us to the site. In the past we have been very frustrated with the Hertz service at Manchester, but today it was very efficient, and we were soon on our way to Janet and John's.
Roger's Dad picked his Mum up from the care home to bring her home for lunch and the afternoon. After lunch, we left Bernard and Edna to have a doze, while the rest of us went out to Wigg Island Nature Preserve, to see the progress on the new Mersey Gateway bridge which spans the Mersey and the Manchester Ship Canal between Runcorn and Widnes. It is now nearing completion and I believe is due to open toward the end of the year. Unfortunately, there isn't a great spot to get a photograph - either too much vegetation, or metal fencing in the way. My picture shows just one of the three pillars securing the cables. As you can see, the morning's sunshine hadn't lasted, but it was warm and remained dry. The bridge, which will have three traffic lanes in each direction, is located almost a mile to the east of the existing Silver Jubilee Bridge. The crossing's total length is 1.4 miles, and the river span is .062 miles. Apart from the new bridge, the project has also included major civil engineering work, realigning the existing road network and constructing new interchanges .
One year ago: Old bridge at Grez-sur-Loing