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Media City
Footbridge
  I November of 2009 I discovered
this work going on in the Ship Canal between the Imperial War Museum
and Media City. A digger on a raft was excavating the bottom of
the canal in order to sink the circular metal structure seen on the
left. It turned out that this was the beginning stage of the
construction of a new bridge that is part of an extension of the
quayside walk from the Millenium Bridge across to Media City.
  The architectural practice of
Wilkinson Eyre have designed an opening footbridge with, as they
describe it, "A dramatic curved form
which responds to the radial masterplan of the site and which will form
an integral part of an orbital pedestrian route around the Canal basin.
The steel bridge deck is supported along one edge by a series of stay
cable which transfer loads to a distinctive fanned mast. Behind the
mast, the deck flares to form an amenable public space above the water
which rotates with the bridge as a counterbalance to the main, 100m
moveable span across the Manchester Ship Canal."
Here is the progress as of
January 2010. As you can see the circular steel structure has
been embedded in the bottom of the canal and work is going on at the
approach to the bridge.
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