in August 1967. The contract was awarded to Nordman Construction after an unsuccessful tender process. The company brought in the Magnus II, a floating crane with a lifting capacity of , which could remove all but two of the spans. These longer spans were pulled sideways off the piers, expecting that they would break into manageable pieces under their own weight. They proved stronger than this and remained intact, needing to be broken up in the river, with much sinking into the bed instead of being recovered. In May 1968, another firm, Swinnerton & Miller, completed the main demolition work with the help of explosives, but clearing of the debris took another two years. Evidence of several of the piers remains. The most significant is a large circular tower, sited between the canal and river. This had formed the base of the swinging section and housed the steam engine to power it. A large stone arch also remains on the landward side of the canal, the original abutment to the swinging section. Some piers reduced to their stone foundations and the wrecks of the petrol barges that caused the original damage are visible at low tide. The river at this point has always been hazardous to shipping because of the strong tidal currents, which caused the 1960 collision. During the demolition, the support vessel Severn King, an old Aust Ferry boat that had become surplus after the new Severn road bridge replaced the ferry in 1966, broke its mooring in the tide, grounded on the remains of the bridge and flooded. A wooden motor barge, the Halfren of 1913, was also used in the demolition work, for collecting small pieces of wreckage. Worn out by this work and the frequent groundings, it was abandoned on the shore at Aust. See also Crossings of the River Severn References Bibliography Further reading External links Bridges across the River Severn Railway viaducts in Gloucestershire History of Gloucestershire Bridges completed in 1879 Bridge disasters in the United Kingdom Bridge disasters caused by collision Buildings and structures demolished in 1970 Demolished bridges in England Railway accidents in 1960 Railway accidents and incidents in Gloucestershire 1960 disasters in the United Kingdom 1960 in England Railway lines opened in 1879 Railway lines closed in 1960 Lydney