Wylam Bridge

Wylam Bridge is a road bridge in Northumberland, England linking the residential area of North Wylam and neighbouring villages of Heddon-on-the-Wall, and Horsley with the railway station in South Wylam as well as west Gateshead, including the villages of Ryton and Crawcrook.

The River Tyne at Wylam has been forded for a very long time but because of the Industrial Revolution in Great Britain, a more suitable method of crossing the river at this point was required to link the ironworks on the north bank with the railway on the south bank so that goods could be taken to Newcastle upon Tyne and other parts of the country.

In 1836 a bridge was built over the river constructed from timber sections supported on stone piers, carrying road traffic and a waggonway.

The bridge was strengthened again during World War II in 1942 so that tanks and other heavy military vehicles could use it.

Improvements continued as recently as 2007 when the railings were strengthened following a fatal car crash in which three people died.