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Saturday, 18 March, 2000, 12:42 GMT

Historic bridge's 150th anniversary

The two-tiered Brittania Bridge carries both trains and cars

The Britannia Bridge - which links Anglesey to the mainland - is 150 years old.

To mark the anniversary, a series of special events has been organised on both sides of the Menai Straits.

For 150 year the bridge has been the rail link between Anglesey, the rest of Wales and beyond. Firefighters say the fire was one of the most dangerous of their careers

Firefighters say the fire was one of the most dangerous of their careers

With its road decks, built above the tracks, it is crossed by thousands of travellers every day

Designed by engineer Robert Stevenson, the Britannia Bridge was built as the second crossing of the Menai Straits.

Just west of Thomas Telford's road bridge, the Britannia Bridge linked both rail freight and passengers between London and Ireland.

But in May 1970, a fire wrecked the bridge - those responsible were fined Ł5 each for trespass.

To this day, firefighters who battled to contain the blaze say it was one of the mosts dangerous jobs of their careers.

"I'm on the news reel at that time running away from the bridge where the asbestos cladding was exploding all around us as if someone was firing a machine gun at you," recalls former firefighter John Owen.

"I think I shook hands with my maker at that time."

Out of the ashes, a new rail link was built - this time with a road, 30 metres above the tracks, giving Anglesey a double-decker link to the mainland.

And to cope with the traffic major roadworks across Anglesey will eventually build a dual carriageway the length of the island from Holyhead to Britannia Bridge, giving the structure and even heavier burden in the years to come.

Related to this story:
Bridge faults mean motorists misery (21 Jan 00 | Wales)
Bridge to Anglesey reopened (24 Nov 99 | UK)
Bridge re-opens ahead of schedule (23 Nov 99 | Wales)

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