When it opened to traffic on 24 June 1981, it was the longest of its type in the world; the Akashi Kaikyō Bridge surpassed it in 1998, and it became the thirteenth-longest by 2024.

[6] In April 2012, the toll was halved to £1.50 each way after the UK government deferred £150 million from the bridge's outstanding debt.

It was not unexpected that under these conditions, a Humber Bridge, with connecting dual-carriageway approach roads and grade-separated junctions, would seem worthwhile.

By the time the bridge opened, much of this inferior route had been transformed by dualling of the A63 and its bypasses, extending the M62 and the connecting of the M18 from Thorne to Wadworth.

The obvious need for a Humber Bridge had been reduced by the late 1970s with the improvements of the motorway infrastructure in the region.

A hovercraft service, Minerva and Mercury, linked Hull Pier and Grimsby Docks from February to October 1969 but suffered relatively frequent breakdowns.

[14] Dismay at the long wait for a crossing led to Christopher Rowe writing a protest song, "The Humber Bridge".

When it became likely that a bridge would be constructed, Imperial College-educated Bernard Wex OBE (1922–1990) produced the design in 1964 that was actually built.

He was a former UK chairman of the International Association of Bridge and Structural Engineers and helped to found the Steel Construction Institute in 1976.

[20] The contractor for the concrete towers, anchorages and sub-structure was John Howard & Co Ltd of Chatham, Kent, which was later bought by Amec.

It included a 320 m (350 yd) span from the southern anchorage of seven pre-stressed concrete box sections and the A1077 junction, costing £4.25 million.

The main southern approach roads from Barton to the M180 motorway junction at Barnetby were built in the late 1970s by Clugston Construction of Scunthorpe, opening in 1978.

The toll buildings and north approach road were built by A. F. Budge of Retford, Nottinghamshire, costing £2.9 million.

Each frame was replaced by two new components: a vertical linkage to cater for longitudinal movement and a sliding bearing for lateral displacement.

[27][28] It was opened officially by Queen Elizabeth II on 17 July 1981, in a ceremony that included a prayer of dedication by the Archbishop of York and a fly-past by the Red Arrows.

[30][29] The bridge's surface takes the form of a dual carriageway with a lower-level foot and cycle path on both sides.

Two central lanes through the plaza are free-flowing; they do not have booths and account holders are able to cross the bridge without stopping.

[38] During construction of the bridge, the road deck sections were floated up on barges then hoisted into place by cables.

[40] Between 1990 and February 2001 the Humber Rescue Team launched its boat 64 times to deal with people falling or jumping off the bridge.

[45] In May 2017, a YouTuber with the username 'Night Scape', along with a small group, illegally scaled the bridge without safety equipment.

The group of young men climbed up the structure to the top of the bridge using the suspension wires as handholds.

[48] Following the death of one individual that month, a petition calling for increased safety measures to 'secure' the bridge had gained thousands of signatures.

In 2004 many motorcyclists held a slow-pay protest, taking off gloves and helmets and paying the toll in large denomination bank notes.

[citation needed] A public inquiry into the tolls was held in March 2009 by independent inspector Neil Taylor.

[57] The board applied again to the Department of Transport in September 2010, to raise the tolls from April 2011 but the government ordered a public inquiry into the application.

[61] In the 2011 Autumn Statement on 29 November, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, announced that the government had agreed to reduce the debt on the bridge by £150 million, which would allow the toll for cars to be halved to £1.50.

[62] Following the government accepting the agreement, between the four local councils, to meet a portion of the debt if revenues proved insufficient, the Transport Secretary, Justine Greening, confirmed the reduction on 29 February 2012, with effect from April.