Editing Isle of Sheppey (section)

==The Swale==
[[File:The-Isle-of-Sheppey Welcome.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Welcome sign]]
Sheppey is separated from the mainland by a channel called [[the Swale]]. In concert with the [[Wantsum Channel]] that once separated the [[Isle of Thanet]] from mainland Britain to the east (before it [[Siltation|silted over]] in the late [[England in the Middle Ages|Middle Ages]]), and Yantlet Creek at the [[Isle of Grain]] to the west, it was occasionally used in ancient times by ships navigating to and from ports such as [[Chatham, Kent|Chatham]] and London to reduce exposure to bad weather in the Thames Estuary or [[North Sea]].

===Bridges===
[[File:Kingsferry Bridge - geograph.org.uk - 4251.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|The [[Kingsferry Bridge]], which lifts both road and rail, here letting a ship go through]]
[[File:Sheppey Crossing 9228.JPG|thumb|upright=1.3|The [[Sheppey Crossing]] with the towers of the Kingsferry Bridge at left, seen from the island]]
The Kingsferry Bridge was first built in 1860, thus eliminating the need for ferries. Over time, there have been four bridges built over the Swale at this point. All bridges had to allow sufficient clearance for shipping heading to the [[Ridham Dock|commercial docks at Ridham]].

On 19 July 1860 the first bridge came into use. It was built for the [[London, Chatham and Dover Railway]], to an [[British Admiralty|Admiralty]] design. It had a central span raised between two towers. Trains and road traffic were able to use it, as with the next two bridges.

On 6 November 1906 the second bridge, built for the [[South Eastern and Chatham Railway]], replaced the first. It had a "rolling lift" design that was originally worked by hand, but later by electricity.

In October 1959 [[Kingsferry Bridge]], a [[Lift bridge|lifting bridge]], was completed, able to lift both the road and the railway line to allow ships to pass beneath.<ref>Information on the bridge from ''Railways of the Southern Region'' Geoffrey Body (PSL Field Guide 1884)</ref>

In May 2006 the [[Sheppey Crossing]] was completed and opened on 3 July. This four-lane road bridge rises to a height of 95 feet (29m) at [[mean high water spring]]s above the Swale, and carries the [[A249 road|A249]] trunk road. Pedestrian, animal and bicycle traffic, as well as the railway, are still obliged to use the lifting bridge, which still provides the most direct link between the island and the [[Iwade]]/[[Lower Halstow]] area.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Rohani|first1=A|title=Critical analysis of the design and construction of the Sheppey Crossing|url=http://people.bath.ac.uk/jjo20/conference2/2008/ROHANI%20PAPER%2032.pdf|website=Proceedings of Bridge Engineering|publisher=University of Bath|access-date=19 August 2015|page=1|date=23 April 2008|quote=a maximum clearance of 29 metres height at midspan|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304105320/http://people.bath.ac.uk/jjo20/conference2/2008/ROHANI%20PAPER%2032.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

On 5 September 2013, fog caused a 130 vehicle pile-up on the Sheppey Crossing bridge and its northern approach in which eight people were seriously hurt and another 30 hospitalised.<ref name=KM>{{Citation|url=http://www.kentonline.co.uk/times_guardian/news/sheppey-crossing-5587/ |title=Sheppey Crossing reopens after dozens of vehicles in massive pile-up in thick fog |work=KentOnline |publisher=KM Group |date=5 September 2013 |access-date=11 September 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130908105932/http://www.kentonline.co.uk/times_guardian/news/sheppey-crossing-5587 |archive-date= 8 September 2013 }}</ref>

===Ferries===
Four ferries previously connected the island to mainland Kent: the King's Ferry to [[Iwade]], the Harty Ferry to [[Faversham]], one from [[Elmley]], and a passenger ferry connecting to the [[Port Victoria railway station|Port Victoria railway terminus]] on the [[Hoo Peninsula|Grain Peninsula]]. The most recently active of these, the Harty Ferry, ceased operation at the start of the [[First World War]], although there was a short lived attempt to start a small [[hovercraft]] service between the Harty Ferry Inn and Oare Creek near Faversham in 1970.