Barker Crossing

About

Barker Crossing was a pedestrian footbridge in Workington, Cumbria, England that crossed the River Derwent, and linked the north and south sides of the town. Army engineers built it in November 2009 after flooding put the town's bridges out of use, and removed it in February 2011. The bridge was named after police officer Bill Barker, who died when the Northside Bridge in Workington collapsed below him. During the November 2009 Great Britain and Ireland floods, all four road and pedestrian bridges in Workington were either swept away, or severely damaged, leaving one sound railway bridge crossing the River Derwent in the town. This left the residents with a 14-mile (23 km) trip to get from one side of the Derwent to the other. On 30 November 2009, Workington North railway station was opened allowing people to travel by train between the north and south sides. Foundations on the river banks were started on 27 November 2009 and used 4,000 tonnes of aggregate. The 110 tonne, 52 metre single-span Mabey Logistic Support Bridge was constructed in Mill Field, on the south bank, and launched across the river, with its "nose" landing on the north bank on 4 December. The bridge was then pushed onto the north bank, and a steel deck laid. Street furniture including lighting was added, and the bridge opened to the public just after 08:00 (GMT) on 7 December 2009. The bridge was constructed by Royal Engineers of 3 Armoured Engineer Squadron, 22 Engineer regiment based at Tidworth, Wiltshire. They worked 24 hours a day in adverse weather conditions including driving rain much of the week and temperatures as low as −8 °C. The bridge was named in honour of PC Bill Barker who drowned in the River Derwent in Workington in the early morning of 20 November 2009. Barker was on the damaged Northside Bridge, stopping traffic from using it. The bridge was swept away beneath him. His body was washed up on a beach at Allonby. He left a widow, Hazel, and four children. The bridge was named after Barker following a campaign by teenagers from Workington launched on YouTube. Barker joined the police on 3 January 1984, at age 19. He worked on

Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Photography via Wikimedia Commons.