Calendar of Discovery and Invention

Abstract

January 30, 1826.—A great achievement was brought to a successful termination on Jan. 30, 1826, when Telford's famous suspension bridge over the Menai Straits was opened and the London mailcoach crossed to Anglesey. Hitherto the passage of the Straits by boat had often been difficult and dangerous. Among the most graceful of such structures, the bridge has a central span of 579 feet. Its main features are the sixteen chains formed of flat wrought iron bars 10 ft. long, 311/4 in. wide, and 1 in. thick.