ICE President Peter Hansford visited one of the North East’s most recognised landmarks, the Transporter Bridge, during his visit to the region.
The Transporter Bridge in Middlesbrough celebrates its centenary in October, and a climb to the top formed part of Mr Hansford’s two-day tour.
The visit also included a presentation on the engineering and history of the bridge. He also saw original plans of Middlesbrough’s Transporter Bridge at the British Steel Archives, earlier in the day.
Mr Hansford also visited Clavering Primary School, in Hartlepool, joining in a bridge building education activity, in which pupils recreated the Transporter Bridge using papers tubes.
The visit also included a tour of the new Tyne Crossing, before presenting the prestigious Robert Stephenson Awards at the ICE North East annual dinner, at the Newcastle Gosforth Marriott Hotel tonight.
A social evening on board HMS Trincomalee, hosted by ICE North East’s Graduates & Students committee, also forms part of the visit.
Mr Hansford said: “The Transporter Bridge is a well-known landmark across the UK, particularly among civil engineers, so it was a pleasure to not only see it from the gondola ride, but also to view Middlesbrough from the top.
“This is an area with a great history of civil engineering, and it has been a pleasure visiting Middlesbrough and learning about its proud past and the bid for future city status, for which I wish its people the best of luck.”