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This is a swing bridge carrying the busy B5194 over the Leeds and Liverpool Canal.
It marks the start of the regulated section of the canal into Liverpool City Centre, navigation of which requires advance notification to the Canal and Rivers Trust in Liverpool. The bridge can only be operated by Trust employees, so if you have not booked, the bridge will not be opened. The bridge is only wide enough for a single lane of carriageway, so it is traffic light controlled in any case; this adds to the delays when heavy traffic has built up for an opening to boats, as vehicles can only be released in one direction at a time.

The Leeds and Liverpool Canal is the longest canal in Northern England at 127 miles long. The first of the trans-Pennine canals it took 46 years to build at a cost of five times the original budget, mainly because of the length and complexity of the route. It passes through 91 locks with a summit level of 487 feet at Foulridge near Nelson and Colne. It was originally conceived in the 18th century to carry woollen goods from Leeds and Bradford and limestone from Skipton but in its 19th century heyday it carried stone, coal and many other goods. The impact of the railways was not as great as with other canals and commercial traffic continued along the main canal until 1964. Regular work stopped in 1972 when the movement of coal to Wigan Power Station ceased. In the latter part of the 20th century the leisure potential of the canal was developed and it is now a popular destination for cruising, fishing, walking and cycling. See Link for detailed information.