The idea of a transporter bridge across the River Tees was first mooted in 1872 when Charles Smith, manager of the Hartlepool Iron Works, submitted a scheme to Middlesbrough Corporation.

Following a 1907 Act of Parliament, the bridge was built at a cost of £68,026 6s 8d (equivalent to £9,090,000 in 2023 values),[5] by Sir William Arrol & Co. of Glasgow between 1910 and 1911 to replace the 'Hugh Bell' and 'Erimus' steam ferry services.

[8] The formal laying of the foundation stones, made of Aberdeen granite, took place in August 1910 when they were laid by the Mayor of Middlesbrough, Thomas Gibson-Poole, and Alderman Joseph McLauchlan, the initiator of the transporter bridge scheme.

While it was stuck, gale force winds lashed water to within inches of it; despite this, the bridge continued to operate.

[10] In 1974, the comedy actor Terry Scott, travelling between his hotel in Middlesbrough and a performance at the Billingham Forum, mistook the bridge for a regular toll crossing and drove his Jaguar off the end of the roadway, landing in the safety netting beneath.

The improvement works included the installation of a glass viewing lift to the landmark's upper walkway and renovation of the gondola.

[21] On this one day per year, usually a Sunday in April, vintage buses take people on free rides around Teesside.

[22] It has been featured in films and TV programmes including Boys from the Blackstuff, Billy Elliot, The Fast Show, Spender, Vera, and Steel River Blues.

The storyline of the third series of Auf Wiedersehen, Pet saw the bridge dismantled to be sold to and re-erected in the United States.