There's something truly monumental about the Royal Albert Bridge which dates back nearly 150 years. This marvel of ingenuity and engineering skill was created by Britain's greatest engineer - Isambard Kingdom Brunel who celebrates the 200th anniversary of his birth in 2006.
Brunel was an engineer of clear vision and pioneering spirit. His brief was to design a bridge to carry the Cornwall Railway across the River Tamar at Saltash. The bridge is thought to be one of Brunel's greatest achievements due to the complexity of its construction. The workers also had to work 70 feet down on the middle pier as well as sometimes having to work in 70 feet of water. Its construction comprised of a wrought iron tubular arch or bow, with a profile in the form of a parabola. Today the Royal Albert is regarded as an engineering marvel. This bowstring suspension bridge comprises two main spans of 455 feet, rising 100 feet above the valley below. There are also 17 shorter approach spans. The bridge was opened by Prince Albert in May 1859 but Brunel did not attend due to poor health. Brunel eventually crossed his bridge on a wagon two days later. But it was to be his last major work - Brunel died three months after the bridge's opening. The Royal Albert Bridge is the product of thousands of hours of hard physical work by our forefathers, people who were driven by the vision of great minds like Brunel's .
And it's that which still inspires us, touches us, and moves us today. Today, all these years after it was built, the bridge still ferrying passengers back and forth between Cornwall and Devon. | 
