The first major crossing proposal was a tunnel in 1872. The Hull merchants and businesses that were not satisfied with the service provided by the New Holland ferry crossing company promoted this scheme. Then in 1928, a plan was drawn up by Hull City Council to build a multi-span bridge four miles west of Hull between Hessle on the north side and Barton-upon-Humber on the south side. This scheme disappeared without trace due to the financial woes of the great depression of the late 1920's and early 1930's.

Approval for the construction of a suspension bridge was granted in 1959 with the passing of the Humber Bridge Act and the creation of the Humber Bridge Board, then in 1973 the work finally began on the Humber Bridge. The reasons why a suspension bridge was chosen were twofold. Firstly the Humber has a shifting sand bed and a navigable channel along which a craft can travel is always changing; a suspension bridge with no support piers in mid-stream would not obstruct the estuary. Secondly, because of the geology of the area, the cost of constructing a tunnel would have been very very expensive.

Work on the construction went on for eight years, in which time thousands of tonnes of steel and concrete were used and upwards of a thousand workers and staff were employed at the of peak of the work. Traffic first crossed the bridge on 24th June 1981 which fulfilled many local dreams and many people will have happy memories of the Bridge's official opening on 17th July 1981 when H.M. the Queen performed the formal opening ceremony .

The Bridge "opened up" both socially and economically, two previously remote and insular areas of England, improving communication and enabling the area to realise its potential in commercial, industrial and tourist development. The Bridge has saved many millions of vehicle miles and many valuable hours of drivers' and passengers' time - an important factor not only for the drivers and operators of commercial vehicles but also for tourists and holidaymakers who would have had to travel around the estuary to reach destinations in the region.

Interesting Facts About the Humber and the Bridge.

When the ferry operated across the Humber, 90,000 vehicles used it every year. More than 100,000 vehicles use the bridge each week.

Before the bridge was built, the ferry trip across the Humber took a minimum of 20 minutes dependant upon the weather and tide. Sometimes boats even got stuck on sandbanks.

The bridge is constantly moving. It bends more than three metres in the middle in winds of 80mph and the towers bend inwardly at the top.

A total of 480,000 tonnes of concrete were used to build the bridge.

The bridge boasts 80 acres of painted steelwork with 20 acres exposed to the elements.

The bridge towers are 36mm (1.4 inches) further apart at the top than the bottom to take account of the curvature of the earth.

The main cable contains 11,000 tonnes of steel wire - enough to stretch one and a half times around the world, a total of 43,000 miles.

The anticipated lifespan of the bridge is 120 years.

A Japanese container ship bears the name Humber Bridge.

The bridge has featured in several UK films and television programmes including Only Fools and Horses, The Beiderbecke Affair and Adrian Mole.