2. Gateshead Millennium Bridge: The Crossing That Tilts
Between Gateshead and Newcastle, a pair of sweeping curves makes a particularly elegant crossing of the River Tyne. One curve carries pedestrians and cyclists; the other rises overhead. The surprise comes when the bridge needs to make room for a boat. The entire structure tilts, lifting the low crossing out of the way.
Instead of splitting down the middle like a familiar drawbridge, it turns on pivots at the riverbanks. The relationship between the two curves changes as they rotate together, creating an opening beneath them. It is easy to understand why people compare the motion to an eye slowly opening and closing.
Even its installation was an unusual spectacle. The completed superstructure was carried up the Tyne by a floating crane and lowered into place. Seen at rest, the bridge looks like a piece of riverside sculpture. Seen moving, it becomes a reminder that an everyday route across town can also be an enormous, carefully balanced machine.
