Mill Road bridge c.1890 (MoC181/69)

Hills Road Bridge, Cambridge

History of Hills Road Bridge

1935 08 01
After a very close debate Cambridge councillors voted to continue lighting the streets with gas. Councillor Kenney said the lighting was bad and it was ridiculous to think of giving a ten years’ contract to gas. Street after street was almost entirely one-sided as regarded lighting. Beyond Hills Road railway bridge all the lamps were on the left hand side and the place was in shadow. Nothing could take the place of electric lamps suspended over the streets. But in London where there were no long lines of electric wires from remote stations there had been a number of breakdowns. How much more would that apply to Cambridge? 35 08 01
Credit: Mike Petty, Cambridge Cherryhinton Road Area Scrapbook 1897–1990.

1937 08 16
Sir – as a small boy in the 1880s my first impressions of Cambridge were so different from today as to be almost incredible. Cambridge, bounded practically by Mill Road railway gates, Paper Mills Bridge, Hills Road Bridge and Queens’ Road was a glorified village. It smacked of medieval times with its Spinning House in St Andrew’s Street and bread and butter was retailed in yard length by Varsity tradesmen. The fastest vehicles on the road were the pretty tandem horses in dog carts affected by rich undergraduates and hansom cabs and I remember assisting the shepherd of Mr Joseph Sturton’s sheep with his flock to and from Parker’s Piece where they were grazed – P.J. Wright 37 08 16
Credit: Mike Petty, Cambridge Cherryhinton Road Area Scrapbook 1897–1990.

1958 12 19
Traffic over Hills Road railway bridge, a bottleneck on the principal road into Cambridge, is extremely heavy. Visibility over the summit is severely restricted and many accidents have occurred there. The existing steel plate girder bridge has deteriorated with age and now work will start to provide a new twin two-lane carriageways and footpaths. The new bridge will be designed to allow for widening should additional railway tracks be needed in the future. 58 12 19b
Credit: Mike Petty, Cambridge Cherryhinton Road Area Scrapbook 1897–1990.

1959 01 13
The widening of Hills Road Railway Bridge may be delayed as negotiations have still to be completed on what proportion of the cost will be borne by the County Council. The East side of the new bridge should run straight from the frontage line of no.129 Hills Road to the entrance of the coal-yard opposite the junction with Brooklands Avenue. There could be a new access from Cherryhinton Road to the Cattle Market and railway sidings. 59 01 13d
Credit: Mike Petty, Cambridge Cherryhinton Road Area Scrapbook 1897–1990.

1959 08 12
Hills Road bridge reconstruction photo – 59 08 12
Credit: Mike Petty, Cambridge Cherryhinton Road Area Scrapbook 1897–1990.

1960 03 22
Work on the widening of Hills Road bridge is slightly behind schedule but is expected to be open by the end of the year. Soon traffic will be diverted on to the new portion of the bridge to allow engineers to take down and rebuild the rest. Twelve beams of pre-stressed concrete have already been laid. When completed it will provide for a dual carriageway with a eight-foot wide footpath on either side of the bridge 60 03 22 – pic 60 03 24
Credit: Mike Petty, Cambridge Cherryhinton Road Area Scrapbook 1897–1990.

1960 04 28
Costs of building the new Hills Road railway bridge have increased by £20,000 because unusually difficult ground conditions mean it needs deeper and more substantial foundations. But the County Council hopes to construct a bridge over the level crossing on the Cambridge Road at Histon. It will mean the demolition of five houses and affect the gardens of 17 other properties as well as the complete rebuilding of the Histon nursery school. 60 04 28
Credit: Mike Petty, Cambridge Cherryhinton Road Area Scrapbook 1897–1990.

1960 06 21
It took twenty men twenty hours at the week-end to demolish Cambridge’s old Hills Road bridge – twice as long as the contractors had anticipated. Originally it was thought that the removal of 140 tons of steel girders would take a little over eight hours, but the trains passing underneath proved a little more troublesome than expected. The men took advantage of the frequent breaks to wipe the sweat from their brows and light a cigarette. The scene resembled firework night for, as the oxyacetylene guns cut through the girders, a spray of red hot sparks would fall on the ground giving an impression of a ‘golden rain’ 60 06 21
Credit: Mike Petty, Cambridge Cherryhinton Road Area Scrapbook 1897–1990.

1960 12 17
Hills Road railway bridge is functioning almost as normal again. After a year’s work during which the traffic has had to contend with considerable difficulties, the road is now suitable for two-lane traffic. Resurfacing will not be carried on for another 12 months in order to allow for subsidence and for several more weeks workmen will be patching up. Work on Churchill College continues as does work on 13 three-storey terrace houses and 60 maisonettes at East Road. Most have their roofs on and one block of houses has its windows in. 60 12 17b
Credit: Mike Petty, Cambridge Cherryhinton Road Area Scrapbook 1897–1990.

1980 09 02
Cambridge’s railway electrification came a step nearer when contractors handed over the shell of the new power signal box near Hills Road Bridge. It will take another 18 months to install the mass of circuitry which will enable a couple of men to control every train, point and signal for miles around. The plan includes floodlit carriage sidings with automatic washing plant for carriages. It is expected to come into operation in May 1982 80 09 02a
Credit: Mike Petty, Cambridge Cherryhinton Road Area Scrapbook 1897–1990.