Hawarden Bridge

Hawarden Bridge
Coordinates	53°13′02″N 3°02′00″W / 53.2172°N 3.0332°W / 53.2172; -3.0332
Carries	Borderlands Line
Crosses	River Dee
Locale	Deeside
Official name	Hawarden Bridge
Maintained by	Network Rail
Characteristics
Design	Swing bridge
Longest span	85 m (278 ft)
No. of spans	3
History
Designer	Mr C A Hobson
Construction start	16 August 1887
Opened	3 August 1889
Location

Hawarden Bridge (/ˈhɑːrdən/; Welsh: Pont Penarlâg) is a railway bridge over the River Dee, near Shotton, Flintshire, Wales. It was built by the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (which later became the Great Central Railway), as part of the Chester & Connah's Quay Railway. It opened on 3 August 1889.

Hawarden Bridge is part of the Borderlands Line from Wrexham to Bidston. Hawarden Bridge railway station is on the north side of the bridge, while Shotton station is on the south side. National Cycle Route 5 crosses the River Dee on the path, adjacent to the railway line, which is on the bridge.

Upon opening, Hawarden Bridge became the largest swing bridge anywhere in the United Kingdom.^[1] It also held the high temperature record for Wales – 35.2°C, which was recorded on 2 August 1990,^[2] until it was exceeded in Gogerddan on 17 July 2022.^[3] However, it regained its high temperature record for Wales the very next day, when a temperature of 37.1°C was recorded at nearby Hawarden, some 5km to the south.^[4] During the 2010s, a major restoration of Hawarden Bridge was conducted, enabling both the speed and axle load limitations to be raised. It has been protected as a Grade II listed structure.^[5][6][1]