The 92-year history of Rhyl’s landmark Blue Bridge

The bridge opened in 1932, to replace an old stone toll bridge, and cost £66,000 to build, which equates to £3.7million today when adjusted for inflation.

The bridge was designed by RG Whitley, Flintshire’s county surveyor, and was fabricated by Dorman, Long & Co, who also constructed the Sydney Harbour Bridge in Australia and Lambeth Bridge in London.

Foryd Bridge, Rhyl. (Image: Rhyl History Club)

It became one of several highway projects in North Wales in the 1930s which helped sustain employment during the economic downturn.

Spanning the mouth of the River Clwyd, it was designed to link Wellington Road and Rhyl's Promenade with a new road from Foryd to Pensarn.

Major Hugh Peel, chairman of the Bridge Committee, along with council officers and elected councillors, formally opened the bridge by pressing a lever, which raised the barriers and signalled the firing of rockets and a rush of people wanting to take their first steps.

The bridge could open to enable boats and ships to travel up the river towards Rhuddlan.

Foryd Bridge, Rhyl. (Image: Rhyl History Club)

After playing an important role during the First World War for the Kinmel Bay army camp, the bridge’s condition gradually deteriorated as traffic grew in size and volume.

After several years, buses were banned from crossing, forcing passengers to alight on one side and walk across to a bus that would collect them on the other side.

Now known locally as the Blue Bridge (due to its colour), its intricate bowstring girders were not painted blue originally.

The A55 Expressway, and the Pont y Ddraig bridge, have since relieved the bridge of long-distance through traffic, but it remains a busy route between Rhyl and the residential settlements and caravan parks to the west.