Kincardine Bridge
| Kincardine Bridge | |
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 The Kincardine Bridge on the River Forth |
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| Carries | A985 road |
| Crosses | Forth River |
| Locale | Kincardine, Fife, Scotland, United Kingdom |
| Designer | Alexander Gibb & Partners[1] |
| Design | Swing bridge with mix of secondary span structure types |
| Total length | 822 metres (2,697 ft)[2] |
| Longest span | 111 metres (364 ft)[2] |
| Construction begin | 1932[1] |
| Construction end | 1936[1] |
| Coordinates | 56°3′54.5″N 3°43′38.2″W / 56.065139°N 3.727278°WCoordinates: 56°3′54.5″N 3°43′38.2″W / 56.065139°N 3.727278°W |
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The Kincardine Bridge is a road bridge crossing the Firth of Forth from Falkirk council area to Kincardine-on-Forth, Fife, Scotland.
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[edit] History
The bridge was constructed between 1932 and 1936, designed by Donald Watson. It was the first road crossing of the River Forth downstream of Stirling, completed nearly thirty years before the Forth Road Bridge, which stands fifteen miles to the south-east.
The bridge was constructed with a swinging central section, to allow larger ships to sail upstream to port in Alloa, which remained in use until 1988.
The bridge is part of the A985 road (formerly A876), and is a single lane each way. It is the common diversionary route for traffic north from Edinburgh and eastern Scotland when the Forth Road Bridge is closed or under repair. As a result of the high volume of commuter traffic using the bridge, the town of Kincardine is frequently congested.
[edit] Second bridge
The original bridge, now over 70 years old, has been identified by the Scottish Executive as in need of replacement. A new Upper Forth Crossing was built for opening in 2008. Despite this, the original bridge has been given Category A listed status by Historic Scotland and will be closed in 2011 for around 12 months for upgrading.
On 1 October 2008 it was announced that the new bridge would be called the Clackmannanshire Bridge.[3] The second bridge opened on 19 November 2008. Traffic through the village of Kincardine is expected to be cut by 80% as a result. [4]
With the opening of the new bridge, the Kincardine Bridge was renumbered as part of the A985 and the new bridge became part of the rerouted A876 forming the bypass of Kincardine.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Kincardine Bridge at Structurae
- ^ a b "Heritage Locations - Scotland - Clackmannanshire - Kincardine Swing Bridge". London: The Transport Trust. http://www.transportheritage.com/find-heritage-locations.html?sobi2Task=sobi2Details&catid=119&sobi2Id=589
- ^ BBC news report, 1 October 2008
- ^ Scottish Government, 'New bridge over Forth opens'.
