The SUPER STEEL 2 TIER Tinsley Viaduct - M1 Motorway - Sheffield

[@YorkshireRC]

My grandad was a steel erector on the viaduct, I found out after he passed my wife’s great uncle Stan was also a steel erector on the viaduct, after meeting him for the first time I mentioned my grandad to him and it turned out they were in the same steel erecting gang for 30 years and were very good mates along with my great uncle Percy . Fortunately Percy was still alive and I was able to reintroduce them to each other. Both passed on now but that’s my connection to the Tinsley Viaduct.

[@ForburyLion]

They can be proud of this large erection they all put effort into creating and maintaining for so long.

[@larryhoover789]

😂😂😂😂😂​@@ForburyLion

[@jessicalove9273]

And all of a sudden..."...or they were bribed" fantastic!.

[@paulvale2985]

Beat me to it 🤣🤣🤣

[@johnjephcote7636]

Was Marples involved?

[@andrewsturrock3069]

The tale I was told is simply that the steel option was £100k or so cheaper than the concrete option. No bribery involved. The construction of the M18, on the other hand...

[@johnpapworth433]

@@andrewsturrock3069 Mr Budge did that and other works around Doncaster

[@stuartd9741]

Mind you using steel, is a nice -mod- nod to local industry.. ..

[@OllieV__nl]

Oh wow that pedestrian path looks incredibly inviting. Such a calming route with great views. And no way off.

[@whoeveriam0iam14222]

Maybe a car could lose control and let you of the bridge

[@DashCamSheffield]

*truck goes over the top at 56mph, vibrating all the way down* yeh, very inviting bridge path

[@johnturner4400]

There’s always a quick way off a bridge…

[@ginginc]

That's probably what the dog being walked is thinking to.

[@BenMPMercer]

No different from walking over the Humber Bridge tbh, which I’ve done several times

[@_starfiend]

I've driven over that viaduct on the M1 countless times since the mid 80's and it's only today I found out it was tiered. Thank you for teaching me something I didn't know.

[@tobymcnicol922]

same! who knew....

[@damiendye6623]

​@@tobymcnicol922 all us that have had it all our lives😂

[@johnjephcote7636]

Same here!

[@leighbomaya]

Yeah I always wonder just why I'm so high up on that bit, I don't dare look to the side - and now I know why, there's a whole bloody dual carriageway underneath!

[@julias-shed]

Me too 😮

[@emmajacobs5575]

Fun/disconcerting fact - if you sit in stationary traffic on the lower deck, you can feel the structure bouncing/jiggling slightly.

[@wteff8586]

the funnest facts are always slightly disconcerting

[@hadhamalnam]

It makes sense, as metals really just act like stiff springs, and when the cross section of the metal is small, as it is in this case, it isnt as stiff, so you feel that springy effect. Whats surprising to me is that such a big structure is able to be supported by such small steel beams

[@LeClaw]

Can confirm 😶‍🌫 Sheffield dwellar here

[@AlanEpton]

Yes, it's because part of it is actually sat on some springy rollers at one end. I believe it was constructed this way so that it could expand and contract with the seasons.

[@stuartd9741]

The same happens on the QEII bridge @ Dartford...

[@Reecy_]

Nice to see you covering this structure in a highways inspector based in Sheffield and recently, with just my two brothers, carried out all the inspection works that have been taking place on and inside the confined spaces of the steel box sections throughout Tinsley Viaduct. As you mention it’s not in bad shape at all and inside the beams besides a few minor cracked welds is all well kept and repainted. 👍🏼

[@adamlee3772]

I’m guessing the minor cracking you found is fatigue cracking, you are arranging it to be drill stopped initially and then the welds removed with a cold cutting technique and re welded with a pwht.

[@clivehorridge]

In the ‘70s, I was involved with the “Merrison” Steel Box Beam stiffening project, spent months climbing inside these girders, seeing the welders installing additional webs to the originally designed stiffening webs. An amazing project. Note the failed girders failed during construction because at the time the method of installing this “new” technology wasn’t understood properly, these new box beams (at the time) could not withstand the unique forces introduced by cantilevering the girders into position, which was an age-old method that was safe for earlier bridge girder designs.

[@billturner6564]

And that is the key lots and lots of paint ... as long as that is kept up it will last forever The tough part is getting in 2 these places to paint it ....

[@adamlee3772]

@@billturner6564 it won’t last forever if you just keep applying protective coatings. The viaduct needs to be checked for fatigue cracks.

[@SHADOW.GGG-]

@@adamlee3772 zzzz

[@bobtheboozer9452]

If you drive on the lower deck during rush hour you get an odd sensation as you can feel the whole structure bouncing up and down as the motorway traffic flies along above you!

[@TheChiefSmeg69]

Yeah, squirms like buggery doesn’t it!

[@theunknownstuntman4010]

Thought that was just me and my fear of heights

[@tomcrookes5689]

Yeah its really odd, like being on the water.

[@aidy6000]

I hated it for that very reason!!

[@johnmurray9526]

Yeah it's really disconcerting how the lower deck sways around like it's actually a rope bridge. As a Sheffield resident I try to avoid using it. Had more repairs than triggers sweeping brush 😂 they day it fails and collapses i won't be on it!

[@The1trueDave]

4:31 The 'diagonal supports' shown here are of relatively minor importance. The diagonal struts that were added in the 70s were the big beasties you can see at 4:38 - they went all the way from the base of each pier, past the lower decks and were fixed at the upper decks. This significanly increased the longitudinal stability. (source: I worked on this during the 2002/03 improvements you mentioned!)

[@vaclav_fejt]

It did seem suspicious to me, having those flimsy supports to prevent unexpected total failure. Now it makes sense!

[@mylesmears6558]

That's Yorkshire for you. It's gone up and it's staying up! Still be there in another 50 years. Miss those cooling towers though, such a great landmark / direction point.

[@teafanatic8452]

i remember being in awe at those cooling towers as a kid

[@tomarse99]

Yeah Salt & Pepper were iconic

[@markwinter8315]

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@huwlewis9059]

Would love to see some info on how they went about the demolition - the proximity of the motorway must have made it very difficult.

[@tomarse99]

@@huwlewis9059 if I recall correctly they had a massive exclusion zone ground them, closed the motorway and did it about 3 in the morning

[@Kevin-mx1vi]

Travelling along the M1 back in the 70's, you could smell Sheffield long before you reached it. True story.

[@neilbucknell9564]

Absolutely - and that smell persisted well into the 1990s......

[@BenBebbington]

Sheffield busses had a permanent odour that will never be replicated

[@johnjephcote7636]

And spot it from way off in the clouds (in the past) when the blast furnaces were opened.

[@g8ymw]

Don't forget Coalite just South of J30

[@johnrussell5245]

I lived in Sheffield in those days. Are you saying we stink?

[@elliotmeek3375]

My great grandad was a Scotsman who was contracted to weld large sections of the original structure. On the weekend he used to go dancing in Sheffield, where he met my great Grandma. So you could say this piece of road has a special meaning to our family

[@keithfletcher6123]

Sheffield … that’s where the UK gets gritty … hell of a place and great people. Loved working in that area years ago.

[@TheDigger06]

Hell,is the correct term for a lot of it

[@johnd8538]

Cheers pal, I'm a Sheffielder and have always said Sheffield holds the whole of the north on its back. Finest people you'll meet the real Sheffielders although it's a very diverse city now and full of students from all over the place. I'm 56.

[@dominicskelton3031]

Ooh, here in Sheffield. 😀 How the devil are you? Iconic bit of construction that, but the cooling towers are sadly missed.

[@sheffladpaul1983]

I watched them come down. Still miss them when i drive over

[@sixfootbear]

The Old Ladies of Tinsley. Much missed.

[@andrewsturrock3069]

There were many corporate sphincters twitching before and during the demolition, particularly when they didn't initially come fully down. Plans for the viaduct "becoming lost" were in place. It wouldn't have been pretty. At all.

[@SpireUtd]

I fondly knew the towers as "Salt & Pepper" & a land mark sadly gone & missed.

[@dominicskelton3031]

They were "nearly home" to so many people - on the train or the motorway, always a welcome sight.... ❤️

[@chasc301]

Marvellous video Jon. The outro jazz rather good. I haven’t been bribed.

[@neopickaze]

Gran Turismo 4 Soundtrack - GT Mode 2 Composed by Isamu Ohira

[@williamross2579]

I really miss those towers, it meant it was only 45mins till home.

[@johnrussell5245]

Every time we drove past a friend of mine used to say they should put huge letters 'S' and 'P' on them.

[@petersmithm9]

How long is it now till you get home?

[@Andy_T79]

Not missed as much as the Avesta stainless steel bull!

[@angryherbalgerbil]

How long is it now they've gone? 🤣😂🤣

[@antonycharnock2993]

@@Andy_T79 It's round the back of Magna if you're missing it!

[@jamesfrancis7025]

After a shit day in the office working on a public sector contract and a shit tonne of beer to forget it I really appreciate the brutal sarcasm in this video... Top work 😁

[@keithfletcher6123]

Drove over it hundreds of times & never thought about it … crackin story, so I hit the button specifically intended for showing my appreciation 👍

[@Cupra-290]

Not being from Sheffield and generally wanting to just get through Sheffield. I didn't know this was 2 tiered. How interesting, thanks!

[@paulketchupwitheverything767]

I lived quite close to the Tinsley viaduct when I was studying in Sheffield and especially enjoyed this episode. The cooling towers were still there but much of the heavy industry in the Don Valley had closed. The buildings were still standing or were semi derelict. It was a few years before the Meadowhall retail park was built. For me whole area had a strange feel to it, with the viaduct and the towers along the skyline but factories that would once have been busy with thousands of workers empty or part demolished. You could see how this in turn had impacted local businesses leaving empty shops and boarded up pubs.

[@peterharvey1762]

I’ll be driving over that on the M1 in my truck about 5 am tomorrow

[@chrisaskin6144]

The twin cooling towers (Salt and Pepper) provided a memorable visual landmark for many drivers who passed them and would think "only so many minutes before journey's end." They stood disused for many years because the powers that be felt it was too dangerous to demolish them due to their proximity to the M1. Well, for all those who have felt bereft I have some good news (sort of.) There are plans to replace the cooling towers with an artwork. At the northern end of the viaduct and on the eastern side of the M1 in a field above the motorway at Kimberworth, Rotherham, a large 'Man of Steel' is going to be located. It will be made of stainless steel and will assume a pose similar to Rodin's 'The Thinker.' I have no idea when this edifice will materialise, it has been on the drawing board for years now and there has even been a small model of how it will look on display in the Meadowhall shopping centre. But knowing the pace at which anything gets off the ground in this country, we'll all be in flying cars before it appears - if it ever appears.

[@ptonpc]

It will be Chinese steel of course.

[@philhawley1219]

@@ptonpc It will probably be a hideous eyesore just like the ridiculous tribute to Charles Darwin our council spent a million on in Shrewsbury. That million was four times over the estimated price. Well done the fucking council, our bills go up but nothing useful gets done by the useless bastards.

[@Worldwidegam3r]

@@ptonpc Steel from the local Outokumpu factory

[@antonycharnock2993]

I think that idea went out of the window a while ago but you can see the steel hearts in Meadowhall & Rotherham which were meant to raise money for the project.

[@adrianrutterford762]

Thanks for another fabulous video. Just what’s needed to cheer up my day.

[@trickydicky90]

My dad is a Rotherham lad and a civil engineer, he didnt work on that viaduct but did work on a section of the A1, he did witnessed a couple of cooling towers down falling down in a storm around York somewhere. He said it was a sight to behold.

[@gregsd]

Sheffield! Sheffield! Loving the jazz too.

[@timkohler]

My memories of this bridge (which is only a little younger than me) are the seemingly permanent roadworks, which restricted it to two lanes through what I remember as most of the 90s and 00s at least, when I started using fairly regularly.

[@angryherbalgerbil]

They had a maintenance phase where repairs were made and a full recoat of weather-proofing. No easy or quick job when they have to test every rivet 😂

[@therealunclevanya]

The beautiful silver steel Bull that was on the left just before the viaduct is now at the Magna Science Centre in case anyone wondered, once over the viaduct on the hill above the Crane workshop in an Ancient British Hill Fort called Wincobank that was a bastion against the Romans for over 30 years.

[@paulprescott7913]

Have travelled over that more times than I can count. My Dad used to deliver into Sheffield from Leeds when he worked for a carrier company called United Carriers. My first recollection of that area was in the late 60s. When approaching the area, you could smell the sulphur in the atmosphere. And as you passed over the viaduct and looked to the left, the Meadowhall steel works sprawled out where the current shopping centre is.

[@paulnolan1352]

They were Don Valley Works, BSC. Stretched all the way along up to Tinsley TMD and yard.

[@SHADOW.GGG-]

@@paulnolan1352 george turton & platts

[@paulprescott7913]

@paulnolan1352 apologies bad memory.

[@EngineerLewis]

I've driven over and underneath this structure many times and it is an impressive structure - thanks for the history lesson as well. And today the air is much cleaner around it so the corrosion risks are much less a problem. 😂

[@anthonybeaman]

If that is the road by the shopping centre I cannot believe it is a two tiered road. That actually amazed me. I've been up and over that road a few times but being a bloke I've never got off at the shops so never knew there was another road under it. Crazy.

[@stanmarsh14]

Yep, Meadowhall is right next door

[@bigdavecyclist]

I worked on some of the repairs on the lower deck, circa '87-'88 over winter, the lower deck was shut off to traffic while we did some strengthening repairs to the metal work. The M1 was still open above while we worked below it. You'd be surprised just how much the bridge swayed!

[@khalidacosta7133]

There's a hidden lane on that bridge too.... in-between the lanes underneath that is accessible to maintenance workers.

[@steve26553]

He does mention the "service" Lane in the video

[@alexbanks9510]

Been over this a few times and always enjoyed the views. This is the first time I'm learning there was a whole other deck underneath at the same time

[@cmacca9109]

The best argument I can make in favour of steel for a bridge like this is that if there was corrosion (which was bound to happen) you’d actually see it and could do something about it, whereas it could easily not be seen in reinforced concrete. The outro drive is a great view though. What a remarkably light looking structure

[@stanmarsh14]

Correct, and that's the problem they had at Dunkirk Flyover, next to the QMC in Nottingham, which carries the A52 towards Clifton / A453.

[@tomsixsix]

@@stanmarsh14 Same problem that doomed the Ponte Morandi bridge, which collapsed and killed 43 people. It was very likely steel cables corroding within the reinforced concrete (the stays and cables were, for whatever reason, fully encased in concrete). This corrosion was very difficult to detect.

[@charliemansonUK]

A rare success story!

[@alanr1062]

I grew up in Wincobank, and you could see it being constructed from my window. The valley was full of steelworks back then with a cloud of smoke above it. We used to ride bicycles on the bottom deck in the early days.

[@stephenyates962]

Fab history lesson. These midweek videos are great as they are so varied in topic. Nice one Jon

[@Ripperley]

Used to get driven across that lower lane on family shopping trips to Meadowhell all the time as a kid, always felt so modern and even futuristic at night being inside this big metal multi-tier motorway bridge up in the air with a roof above you and the lights of the city, road lights and shopping centre all below you contrasted against the rest of old backwater South Yorkshire.

[@colintuffs568]

Glad you mentioned Meadowhall . Involved with the carpark construction ---- in reinforced concrete 😂

[@colvinator1611]

Very interesting and slick presentation. Thanks a lot.

[@WardyLion]

I know it well, being from Chesterfield, formerly having family in Sheffield and going to Uni in Huddersfield (long long ago). I used to love driving past the cooling towers on my way home from Hudds as I knew I was nearly home. I went to witness the demolition of them in 2008 and the video may still be on my channel…

[@aidy6000]

it is still on. i also remember watching look north the following day.

[@WardyLion]

@@aidy6000 Thanks! I actually had to go and check myself and saw it was uploaded 16 years ago. My hip went when I saw that...

[@benjamincoombes6869]

Great video , been over that viaduct many times over the years but only realised it was 2 teir a few months ago

[@garybrown4854]

Been along that viaduct thousands of times , I had no idea there was another road underneath , now I do , you've changed my life forever lol.

[@circadianizzy]

I've been on this a few times, and it's always been a fun ride. Thanks for sharing some insight!

[@mozzaev]

I have driven over this so many times, and when its windy its fun on the top deck.. To be pedantic the bottom tier carries the A631 not the A361 It used to mean you where home when you saw the cooling towers, now its the site of Meadowhell that you see

[@AndiusPandius]

@mozzaev to be equally pedantic they were cooling towers & not cooling tyres! 😂 I used to be able to see them from my old house in High Green. The tyres not so much!

[@mozzaev]

@@AndiusPandius I didnt even know I had typed tyres lol.all changed to the proper word... oh dear lol.

[@BillyKirbyUK]

You didn't ask if we had had a good week! I'm pleased to report that mine is going OK thank you

[@AlfaGiuliaQV]

It´s not Sunday yet, this is one of the mid week snippets.

[@tobyjackman3212]

This is the best video I've ever seen about _anything_

[@owensmith7530]

The upper deck in the 1980s and 1990s was 6 lanes of motorway with no hard shoulders, I used to drive along it in the left hand lane at 70mph flinching a bit at how close the fence to the edge was. Then a lane each way was turned into a hard shoulder and it stayed that way while the deck was widened to add an extra lane on each side. Finally it changed to 3 lanes with the new hard shoulders when it changed to a smart motorway a handful of years ago.

[@Lordwonga.]

You forgot to mention it bounces up and down , sitting in traffic you feel it moving . Great video

[@lefthandedspanner]

as a former daily user of this viaduct (I live near junction 36, and worked at an engineering firm just off the southern end of the viaduct) I became very familiar with it if you're waiting at the lights to get from the viaduct onto southern roundabout, vibrations from the motorway overhead often cause vehicles to visibly bump up and down on the spot - very unnerving if you're not expecting it! also the road leading from the southern roundabout to the Sheffield ring road (Shepcote Lane, a.k.a. Schrödinger's A-Road) is very strangely signposted: from the roundabout it's marked A6102 (same as the ring road), from the ring road it's marked A631, both without brackets the section of M1 through Sheffield and beyond to the north was a last-minute addition, considered beneficial despite the larger amount of engineering work required - it was originally meant to terminate on A1(M) Doncaster bypass on what's now the southern end of M18, which is why M1 turns a sharp corner through the M18 junction while the south-facing sliproads are gently curved, and the junction is so close to junction 31 the Tinsley viaduct is the heaviest bit of engineering on it, but there are some pretty substantial hills on the Barnsley section, and there are entire motorways in this country that are shorter than the south-facing sliproads at junction 37

[@justanotherbrewer2115]

The j37 south slip road is perhaps the longest in the country it's all downhill with a constant gradient nice for getting to the tonne on the m1

[@justanotherbrewer2115]

J37 North slip almost exactly the same, westbound m42 j5 at Solihull is tiny in comparison but no chance of getting the tonne as it's always smart motorway at 50mph a moving traffic park

[@jonathanpalmer155]

As a fellow left-hander, but not a De dah, please explain, "Schrödinger's A-Road [I know about Schrödinger]?

[@lefthandedspanner]

@@jonathanpalmer155 it's a single section of road that apparently has two different numbers, depending on which sign you look at similarly, some parts of A633 between Barnsley and Rotherham are both primary and non-primary, depending on which sign you look at

[@Mar.wanJaniol]

So chill, great atmosphere here!

[@ClarinoI]

Minor correction: When the viaduct opened, it didn't have six lanes on the upper deck, it had two in either direction, with a sort of double hard shoulder arrangement presumably to give a bit of extra leeway for vehicles that lost control so that they didn't risk falling over the edge. It was only changed to three lanes each way with standard width hard shoulders within the last ten years or so.

[@egpx]

Yes, I was going to say the same thing. In fact you can see the extra added width quite clearly in the video.

[@chrisstreet6827]

@@egpx I used to be three lanes, then went down to two lanes with the work in 2003 I think. It then went back again to three lanes a few years back.

[@Kivetonandrew]

Incorrect. When the Viaduct first opened there were definitely three lanes in both directions on the M1. Being local I've driven over it thousands of times. It was reduced to two lanes after the aforesaid bridge collapses happened. It remained two lanes until the huge diagonal braces were installed. It then reverted to three lanes for several years then back to two lanes for further strengthening. Now back to tree lanes.

[@MadeinSheffield]

It will please @GDBRescueandrecovery that the viaduct will always have a hard shoulder - sadly for him though smart motorway either side.

[@falkerhard]

This is an amazing piece of road. Never knew what was beneath it but its smooth.

[@arthurgordon6072]

Steel construction? Absolutely. The Forth Bridge, opened in 1890, still going strong!

[@Trev5]

Steal construction, or just many layers of paint holding it up....!! 😅

[@loki6626]

When you're queuing for the roundabouts on the lower deck you can feel it moving about.

[@deathpod1975]

Must have driven over this at least 50 times, never knew it had a lower level. Thanks for interesting video.

[@TheDoctorhuw]

My home town! I miss Bill & Ben (the final 2 cooling towers) Swapped Sheffield for Newcastle about 4 years ago. Still lots of steel structures to keep me happy!

[@squeakdidit]

I drive over it all the time when I’m at work, thanks for sharing the history of this amazing piece of engineering

[@Itsa-sh]

As someone who used to live near Irchester and Lives in Sheffield i loved this video. Good to know the train still exists and the travellers nearby didn't sell it for scrap 😂

[@paulharrison8152]

You just made my son’s day. He loves Tinsley Viaduct, the power station, Meadowhall and the M1.

[@Dan23_7]

Of all the many many times I’ve driven on that section of the M1, I had no idea there was another 4 lanes of traffic underneath me. Every episode is a school day !! Cheers Jon 👍🏼

[@whya2ndaccount]

Congratulations on breaking the 150K barrier!

[@An.Individual]

I used to drive over that all the time in the 80s. I recently went back and wondered if I had imagined cooling towers. Now you have told me they were there and now demolished so thanks.

[@dougdavidson175]

Thanks John. As usual another wicked sweet production. Take care & stay safe.

[@Zoltanlouis2009]

It is an amazing structure.... earlier this year I drove on the lower level for the first and it made me say "wow" out loud!

[@garysmith7286]

I have driven over that section of the M1 hundreds of times and never realised there was a carriage way underneath.......you learn something new every day lol😅

[@malcolmlane-ley2044]

I remember it well from working in the Tinsley area for 8 years in the 80's. I used to joke the bridge was built for free provided they were given the maintenance contract as it always seemed to be under repairs; I must have spent many hours in total gently bouncing up and down in a line of traffic on that lower deck. Thanks for the memories.

[@agwad123]

Lived in Tinsley , worked at Arthur Lees , so walked to work . Friend worked for Cleveland Bridge in Darlington , he worked on the box sections for the decks , he bought his house with his overtime earnings .

[@rogeratygc7895]

When I was working in steel research in Rotherham a mechanical engineering colleague told me tenders had been requested for a concrete structure, but one company offered the steel version; it was so much cheaper the choice was not in doubt. Good video!

[@angryherbalgerbil]

And the bribe that much larger waa just icing on the cake! 🤣😂🤣

[@martinlacey621]

I spent weeks in the 80's testing the welds on the inside of the box sections we found that a the steel was a type that contained segregation and natural weaknesses that along with the weld design was considered a potential problem and months were taken to remove the welds [fillet] one at a time; and some of the steel sections and then replace with a new design of weld [penetrated]. these were examined using ultrasonic and surface testing. The plate work was then painted with anti corrosion paint which actually never dries.

[@joecurly3637]

I miss those Tinsley towers so much. Knew quite a bit about its construction, but there's quite a lot here that I didn't expect to find out about, as always great video!

[@driving_all_over]

I’ve driven on both levels of this and it is an impressive structure I still can’t believe they got rid of the cooling towers though, it doesn’t look right them not being there even 16 years on 😢

[@AdrianDowthwaite]

I've driven this bit of M1 many times and never knew there was another road below - fantastic Jon, thank you.

[@brokenbritain9441]

and me🤯

[@jeremywilliams5107]

Likewise

[@damiendye6623]

But that because you never left the motorway

[@Jonny_The_Organism]

It's nearly forty years since I was stood where you're stood... and those well cool ing towers were there at the time I was stood there... When they went... yep ... well that's the finish of "Sheffield Steel" then....

[@haggielady]

Thanks Jon. It's so nice to know that a bridge I drove over has such a sordid past. This is why I go out of my way to avoid them if at all possible.

[@sssdddkkksss]

1:51 that image is amazing

[@janglyj8627]

Brilliant. All the years I’ve been down there and never realised I was on a viaduct. I do miss the cooling towers. It’s not the same without them.

[@lostcarpark]

I drove from Glasgow to Sheffield and then back to Ireland this summer. Drove over that viaduct several times on the M1. I had no idea there was another dual carriageway underneath!

[@bubzthetroll]

As an American I have to say that I've never seen here a bridge or viaduct that is in as good of condition.

[@stephenholland5930]

I was impressed with the good state of the Baltimore bridge steel prior to getting destroyed by the MV Dali.

[@angryherbalgerbil]

Birth place of steel and engineering fella. Sheffield steel is still the best quality you'll find in the world, what's left of it out there anyways. And as a region it housed some phenominal engineers. The last gasp of the British empire is seen in constructions like this post WW2. No budget to make them ornate or aesthetic, built entirely for function to get the nation moving and rebuilt, and built with what remained of the engineering knowhow from the Isambard Kingdom Brunel era of British industrial prominence. The Northern UKs heritage is their steel and coal era, most of the regional identity is tied to steel, regardless of whether it resulted in building Hell on earth the world over. When you look at towns/Cities like Sheffield, Leeds, Middlesbrough etc. It's impossible to not be impacted by just how alien and hostile they are to the human soul. Middlesbrough's people were known as "smoggies" for the amount of fumes and smoke the region spewed out. Pains me to see the conflict between economics, ecology, and the welfare and pride of people as they fight against odds to survive in the world. Yorkshire is the epitome of the indominable human spirit, but also of how that human spirit can loose it's sense of reason, truth, and beauty out of sheer pragmatism and greed. He's probably most in the mark in this video when he says "or they were bribed". Thankfully I grew up in the 80s when the industrial blight was in decline in these towns, but not without the lingering impact on my soul and life journey. My parents grew up and worked all their lives through this phase in history, to them they saw a world rebuilt from the rubble and destruction of WW2, to me I was surrounded by steel, concrete, and people who were unable to recognise a human prison when they saw one. Part of me thinks that I would have preferred the rubble, or the world that existed before Ironopolis that spawned replications from it's girders the world over. Now nearly every major city has become that glass, iron, and concrete prison the world over, and my gut says that this wasn't for the best for the human soul or our psychological wellbeing. Before the girders there was artisanship to architecture. Everything post-war seems to have been built entirely by a soulless pragmatism. The devil in the machine as it were. Truth and beauty were lost during the last world war, and in today's world we're now burying it's casket without even a single tear of remorse shed. Aphelion skies are what lies in wake. "Abandon all hope ye who enter here!"

[@Anonymoususer_8823]

So this is what the Tinsley Viaduct looks like when it was built in 1968 and opened in the same year. With the M1 motorway at the top deck and the A631 in the middle deck. I must say that it’s quite an impressive structure that can handle so much traffic when the M1 motorway was built and extended to Leeds that you have mentioned in your other previous videos. Very interesting piece of British engineering history.

[@SteveMontuno]

My grandad told me about the problems of this bridge about 40 odd years ago when i was a young un, and every time i'm stuck at the lights under the lower deck on the Tinsley side i always have a glance up at the steel roof while hearing the loud clank of each vehicle as the trucks & cars pass overhead,,,,,,always a relief when the lights turn green at that side ,,,funny thing is i don't get that feeling so much on the other side but you can't hear the clank so much on that side.

[@DIY-DaddyO]

There's a second level!!! 😮 I've schlepped up n down the M1 past Sheffield and never realised what an impressive structure that is. Very informative John, thanks 👍

[@bubblebus1]

I have known this structure since the mid 1970s. Mf the industry together with the cooling towers have disappeared but the viaduct still serve us well. My respect to the construction team as mentioned in the post below.

[@paulallen6915]

My Dad worked for Shephard Hill in Chesterfield, I will have to ask him about that train.

[@halobegsnog8321]

Tricky for hitching but as stately as Spaghetti, and highest respect for a cracking video.

[@TheCardiganR]

I remember driving past the cooling towers with the kids in the back and telling them it was a cloud factory. I think they believed me at the time.

[@twocvbloke]

Even survived being nuked for Threads, or did it always look like that? :P

[@MontytheHorse]

IIRC, the viaduct was Ground Zero for the warhead that hits Sheffield.

[@DarkSitesChannel]

You beat me to the Threads joke or as I call it The Great Soviet Assisted Sheffield Improvement Scheme.

[@SarahJonestoo]

Love this. I used to live in Sheffield and I know both layers well.

[@markadshead4214]

Those towers should have been grade 2 listed and preserved. Iconic landmark for both Sheffield and Rotherham. Great video.

[@TheDigger06]

They prob wasnt diverse enough

[@OscarLodge]

Very interesting thanks,.. at 4:44 I remember those extra struts being added but it still amazes me how it takes the weight with such slender supports 5:44

[@teeKeri]

I learn something new every week on this channel 👍

[@GLH8]

0:46 its been under repair for 55 years 😂

[@alanplom8909]

I always loved driving on the lower deck - felt quiet and cocooned somehow! Love the outro music too Jon.

[@Eric_L456]

Never driven over this viaduct but now I want to after watching this! Loved the closing music too .

[@brooksbank67]

Absolutely bloody brilliant. Drive over it most weeks, now I'm a little nervous lol. Great show Jon, keep em coming

[@Technaudio]

Driven that section of the M1 countless times, I forget that there's a road underneath, in fact, I didn't know there was until I once drove along that bit too.

[@Tuberuser187]

Great timing! I saw a video about Sheffield on "The Truckers Eye" Channel, he briefly mentioned this viaduct and was curious about learning more and here you are. Cheers!

[@thewilk8556]

I’ve been sat in a traffic jam on the lower deck of Tinsley viaduct. It really does swing about

[@edward1591]

Great vid. I have also driven over this without realising it’s tiered, or just what an amazing bit of kit it actually is.

[@davebutterworth7414]

Excellent illustrative video John ! That’s a piece of engineering that’s been part of my life since being an infant…. Much enjoyed thanks ❤

[@RealSweetTom]

Had no idea that was going on underneath. Great vid.

[@muddy250]

I remember being driven on the lower tier on a weekly basis as a kid in the 70s, always somebody welding something under there.