Bridge climbs: new money for cultural tourism

Abstract eng:
Bridges, whether stone structures hundreds of years old or the great suspension bridges of the 19th century, have long been revered for their heritage values. Unlike many other industrial structures, bridges often reflect their original purposes, such as horse drawn or pedestrian travel, but have also been converted to new uses, including adaptation for motor vehicles, trams or railways. Most 20th century bridges were primarily aimed at providing for trains, motor vehicles or both. Of these a number also provided cycle and pedestrian ways, allowing the construction and design to be viewed/appreciated at leisure. A handful of bridges have recently turned themselves into experiential tourist attractions by enabling people to walk over the structure itself, for a substantial fee. Such bridge climbs entail relatively minor intrusions into the heritage fabric, and provide a new source of income to maintain that fabric. This especially applies to iron bridges, with their substantial superstructures that readily cater for walkers in a safe manner. Over three million people have now walked over the top and middle arches of the Sydney Harbour Bridge (1932), the first and most popular commercial bridge climb in the world. This paper explores the heritage compromises involved in such enterprises, which allow paying customers to have direct contact with the structure, far beyond any kind of public access ever envisaged by the original engineers. The paper poses questions about the cultural tourism potential of some of our longest lasting engineering structures that remain in everyday use. Redundant electricity power stations are often used for museums and art spaces; masonry gasometers can be converted to student housing; and old tram depots take on a variety of new guises. But bridges, more than any other industrial structure, offer the prospect of rehabilitation and adaptation, not only to new forms of transport, but to the oldest form of transport, walking.

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