The Newport Transporter Bridge (Welsh: Pont Gludo Casnewydd) is a transporter bridge that crosses the River Usk in Newport, South East Wales. The bridge is the lowest crossing on the River Usk. It is a Grade I listed structure.
It is one of fewer than ten transporter bridges that remain used worldwide; only a few dozen were ever built. It is one of only two operational transporter bridges in Britain, the other being the Tees Transporter Bridge.
French engineer Ferdinand Arnodin designed the bridge. It was built in 1906 and opened by Godfrey Charles Morgan, 1st Viscount Tredegar, on 12 September 1906. Newport Museum holds a silver cigar cutter, presented to Viscount Tredegar on the opening day, as a memento of the occasion.
The design was chosen because the river banks are shallow at the desired crossing point (a few miles south of the city centre), where an ordinary bridge would need a very long approach ramp to attain sufficient height to allow ships to pass under and a ferry could not be used during low tide at the site. The river is too narrow for a swing or bascule bridge (drawbridge).
Today, the bridge is considered an iconic symbol of Newport, particularly as a mark of its industrial heritage. As well as a working transport link, the bridge is also open as a tourist attraction – visitors can climb the towers and walk across the upper deck for a small charge. The bridge forms part of the classified highway network and is also where Route 4 of the National Cycle Network crosses the River Usk and Route 47 begins. It was the focal point of the local millennium celebrations of 2000, where fireworks were fired from its length, and has been featured in several movies and television shows. It was the centre-piece of the Crow Point Festival in September 2006 to celebrate its centenary. It is used for charity events such as sponsored abseils.
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