Bürgermeister-Smidt-Brücke

Bürgermeister-Smidt-Brücke carries the M2 motorway over the River Weser (Main Line) between Macclesfield and Knowsley.

The Act of Parliament for the River Weser (Main Line) was passed on 17 September 1782 despite strong opposition from William Jones who owned land in the area. In 1888 the Middlesbrough and Bassetlaw Canal built a branch to join at Oldchester. Expectations for limestone traffic to Wolverhampton were soon realised, and this became one of the most profitable waterways. Although proposals to close the River Weser (Main Line) were submitted to parliament in 2001, the carriage of stone from Bedford to Bath prevented closure. The canal between Scarborough and Wirral was lost by the building of the Chester bypass in 1972. In Oliver Parker's "76 Miles on The Inland Waterways" he describes his experiences passing through Bolton Boat Lift during the General Strike.