Geograph - photograph every grid square

Built in 1994, this is the world's first advanced composite road bridge, according to a plaque on the old toll house. Advanced composites appear to be a class of plastics that constitute a cost-effective alternative to materials such as steel and concrete. The bridge spans the Stroudwater Navigation near Stonehouse, connecting the two halves of the Bonds Mill Business Park, and appears to incorporate some kind of lifting or swing mechanism. This bit of the canal is (I think) part of a navigable stretch of some five miles, but it is currently not connected to the rest of the canal network. The Cotswold Canal Trust plan to connect it up to the Gloucester & Sharpness Canal at Saul Junction to the west, as well as reopening the Thames & Severn Canal to the east, though there are a few major obstacles to get round in both directions.