Barton Road Swing Bridge

The structure is located adjacent to, and downstream of, the Barton Swing Aqueduct. The two crossings are controlled from a brick-built valve house, on a 122 metres (400 ft) x 9 metres (30 ft) man-made island in the centre of the canal. The tower is four stories high, each with a 2x2 bay and accessed via an external staircase.

The bridge opens to let shipping traffic through the Manchester Ship Canal, which occurs up to 14 times a day.The island supports the pivot points for the bridges' rotating structures, which are fixed in concrete. When in their open positions, the aqueduct and road bridge line up along the length of the island, allowing ships to traverse along each side of the ship canal. The bridge is a steel arch of girders, and connects to the pivot point via a rack and pinion system. It is the only swing road bridge on the canal that rotates from the centre, instead of from one end.[Wilipedia]