The Newport Transporter Bridge () is a transporter bridge that crosses the River Usk in Newport, South East Wales. The bridge is the lowest crossing on the River Usk. It is a Grade I listed structure. It is one of fewer than 10 transporter bridges that remain in use worldwide; only a few dozen were ever built. It is one of only two operational transporter bridges in Britain, the other being the Tees Transporter Bridge. History The bridge was designed by French engineer Ferdinand Arnodin. It was built in 1906 and opened by Godfrey Charles Morgan, 1st Viscount Tredegar, on 12 September 1906. Newport Museum holds a silver cigar cutter which was presented to Viscount Tredegar on the day of the opening, as a memento of the occasion. Design The design was chosen because the river banks are very low at the desired crossing point (a few miles south of the city centre) where an ordinary bridge would need a very long approach ramp to attain sufficient height to allow ships to pass under, and a ferry could not be used during low tide at the site. Principal dimensions A Corporation of Newport drawing dated December 1902 is calibrated in metres. The height of the towers is , and the height to the underside of the main girder truss above the road level is . The span between the centres of the towers is , and the clearance between the towers is quoted as being ; however, including the cantilevered sections, the main girder truss gives the bridge an overall length of . The distance between the centres of the anchorage caissons is . Power to propel the transporter platform or gondola is provided by two electric motors, which in turn drive a large winch, situated in an elevated winding house at the eastern end of the bridge. This winch is sufficient to drive the gondola through its total travel at a speed of . This is the oldest and largest of the three historic transporter bridges which remain in Britain, and also the largest of eight such bridges which remain worldwide. When compared with Middlesbrough's Transporter Bridge, the Newport Transporter is taller, but less in overall length. It also utilizes approximately of steel compared to used to construct Middlesbrough's Transporter (not accounting for steel used in foundations or concrete anchors). This difference in weight is mainly due to the