Kent Messenger Millennium bridge, Maidstone, UK

The Kent Messenger Millennium Bridge at Maidstone, UK is the world’s first ‘cranked’ stress ribbon, and the winner of a 2002 Royal Institute of British Architects Award. The deck of this bridge consists of two concrete catenaries that were designed with a dogleg alignment with the angle between them at 25 degrees. The overall length of the bridge is 101.50 m, the length of the clear main river span 49.5 m, and the side span 37.5 m.

Maidstone Borough Council and the UK Millennium Commission financed the project. It was also part sponsored by the Kent Messenger Group. It was one of only two UK Millennium bridges not subject to a design competition (both at Maidstone, by the author). It appears also to be the only UK concrete Millennium Bridge. The project was commenced in 1998 and completed in 2001. The lead consultant was the author; the bridge engineer Strasky Husty and Partners and the checking engineer Flint & Neill Partnership. The author designed also other stress ribbons of varying types, including an arch supported proposal for the Kelvin Link Bridge in Glasgow (with Techniker), and two competition winning designs : the Carlisle Hadrian’s Millennium Bridge (with Atelier One), and the Portsmouth pedestrian / cycle bridge (with Buro Happold).

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