[1][3] In 1871, the Corporation of Reading had obtained permission to build a swing bridge across the river just above Caversham Lock, but this was never done.

The following year the Corporation successfully obtained permission to replace this proposed footbridge with a wider road bridge.

[1] The actual building of the bridge was delayed by the outbreak of the First World War, but the construction contracts were finally let in 1922.

The building work, by Holloway Brothers, started in March of that year, and the bridge opened on 3 October 1923.

Voids in the bridge deck and the southern approach ramp were filled with foam concrete, and carbon fibre plates were used to strengthen the structure.