Calls for second Humber Bridge to boost economy

There are calls for a second Humber Bridge to be built between Immingham and Hull.

The Association of British Ports says the plans would speed up freight travel and benefit the economy.

In a statement, the port owner calls on the Environment Agency to consider adding a road bridge on the top of a proposed new Humber flood barrier.

ABP says doing so would benefit the country. It said: "At present, both the ports of Hull and Immingham are reliant on one road (the A63 and the A180 respectively).

"When something happens on those roads, vital freight can be delayed enormously.

"Not only does this mean people do not get goods on time, but it also makes us less competitive commercially in the North of England.

"Putting in a new crossing would reduce congestion in Hull, forge new economic ties between Grimsby and Hull, and build resilience into the road network so that traffic from the ports on both banks of the Humber have alternative routes when incidents or congestion occurs."

An Environment Agency spokesperson said:

“The Humber 2100+ group of organisations, including the Environment Agency, is considering the idea of a barrier as a flood risk solution in future as levels of flood risk increase. This is just one of many long-term options that are being looked at for the region to manage long-term tidal flood risk and no proposal has yet been made.”

ABP also suggested moving a large proportion of lorries over to the rail network to reduce carbon emissions and improve reliability.

The Humber Bridge

The Humber Bridge opened to traffic on 24 June 1981 and officially on 17 July 1981. It crosses the Humber Estuary between Hessle, East Yorkshire and Barton upon Humber, North Lincolnshire.

It cut the journey from Hull to Grimsby from 82 miles to 42.

The structure spans 1410m and took eight years to build - at an estimated cost of between £98million and £151million.

It was the longest single span bridge in the world at the time of construction and held this record for 16 years. It is the UK’s longest single-span suspension bridge and now the eighth longest in the world.

In 2017 the Humber Bridge was given Grade 1 listed status by Historic England, making it the longest listed structure in the UK.