Things I have learnt the past four weeks while riding
Route 51 has taught me a few things, not least how to make best use of my bike and its gears.
There are a few facts I have picked up on the way which I would never have found out otherwise.
Great Barton railway crossing
Is surprising: not least in how cyclists and horses make their way into Bury St. Edmunds.
Route 51 crosses the A14 as it heads west from Thurston towards Bury and Cambridge. It also crosses a railway line and has an amazing crossing bridge for use by riders of cycles and horses and pedestrians.
The satellite view shows it beautifully.
Amazing bridge, screen grab from Google Maps.
Stuck in the middle of no-where, horse riders are asked to “please dismount” and there is a raised platform to assist.
Old crossing, screen grab from Google Maps.
As a cyclist, the ramp of the bridge and the corners are gentle and easy to ride up. No cars are approaching from the east, so it’s an easy ride up, negotiate the turns and end up 4 miles east of Bury.
The first time I did this, it was a bit of a surprise, but even as a novice it’s simple to work out.
But it’s such a weird structure in the middle of no-where.
Thurston is a reasonably sized town, population of 3,300 odd people and presumably, allowing people a simple, safe means to get into Bury (pop 41,000) cuts down dramatically on congestion and hence pollution.
I mean that literally. The bridge replaced this crossing which looks much more precarious.
Looking into this on the web, I found the The Anonymous Widower, a great blog covering, amongst other things, unusual railway crossings. He has some lovely pictures of this structure. Their blog highlighted that in the centre of Thurston, a simple traffic light system is in use by pedestrians. The “monster bridge” is dedicated to cyclists and horse riders.
The Anonymous Windower links off to a report in the East Anglian Times, which dates the bridge opening to just after November 2014 and quotes the cost of construction being £1.5M. Indeed, the project’s closure was proudly written up in January 2015 by the construction company, Kemada’s civil engineering team.
I’m guessing the cost of this bridge will ensure it remains reasonably unique!
Posted: November 13th, 2018 under 42, Palace2Palace.