Clyde Arc | |
---|---|
Coordinates | 55°51′26″N4°16′57″W / 55.85722°N 4.28250°W |
Carries | Motor vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians |
Crosses | River Clyde |
Locale | Glasgow, Scotland |
Official name | Clyde Arc |
Characteristics | |
Width | 22 m (72 ft) |
Longest span | 96 m (315 ft) |
History | |
Construction cost | £20.3 million (Budget) |
Opened | 18 September 2006 |
Statistics | |
Toll | Free |
Location | |
The Clyde Arc (known locally as the Squinty Bridge) is a road bridge spanning the River Clyde in Glasgow, Scotland, connecting Finnieston near the SEC Armadillo and SEC with Pacific Quay and Glasgow Science Centre in Govan. Prominent features of the bridge are its innovative curved design, and that it crosses the river at an angle. The Arc is the first city centre traffic crossing over the river built since the Kingston Bridge was opened to traffic in 1970.
The bridge was named the "Clyde Arc" upon its official opening on 18 September 2006. It had been previously known as the "Finnieston Bridge", or the "Squinty Bridge". [1]
The Clyde Arc was designed by Halcrow Group and built by BAM Nuttall. Glasgow City Council instigated the project in conjunction with Scottish Enterprise and the Scottish Government. Piling works for the bridge were carried out from a large floating barge on the Clyde, whilst the bridge superstructure was fabricated offsite. The bridge-deck concrete-slab units were cast at an onsite pre-casting yard. Planning permission was granted in 2003 and construction of the bridge began in May 2005. It was structurally completed in April 2006. The bridge project cost an estimated £20.3M. [2] The Bridge is designed to last 120 years. [3]
The bridge has a main span of 96 m (315 ft) with two end spans of 36.5 m (120 ft), resulting in a total span of 169 m (554 ft). The design of the main span features a steel arch. The supports for the main span are located within the river with the abutments located behind the existing quay walls. The central navigation height at mean water height is 5.4 m (18 ft).
It was officially opened on 18 September 2006 by Glasgow City Council leader Steven Purcell, although pedestrians were allowed to walk across it the previous two days as part of Glasgow's annual "Doors Open" Weekend.
The bridge connects Finnieston Street on the north bank of the river to Govan Road on the southern bank. The bridge takes four lanes of traffic, two of which are dedicated to public transport and two for private and commercial traffic. There are also pedestrian and cycle paths. The new bridge was built to provide better access to Pacific Quay and allow better access to regeneration areas on both banks of the Clyde. The bridge has been designed to cope with a possible light rapid transit system (light railway scheme) or even a tram system.
The bridge is the first part of several development projects planned to regenerate Glasgow. The £40M Tradeston Bridge was also completed (a further proposed pedestrian bridge linking Springfield Quay with Lancefield Quay was not). The canting basin and Govan Graving Docks next to Pacific Quay are subject to development along with Tradeston and Laurieston. A derelict area of Dalmarnock was used as the 'athletes' village' for the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. [4]
The bridge was closed between 14 January and 28 June 2008 due to the failure of one support hanger, and cracks found in a second.
On the night of 14 January 2008 the connecting fork on one of the bridge's 14 hangers (supporting cables that transfer the weight of the roadway to the bridge's arch) snapped; Strathclyde Police quickly closed the bridge to traffic. [5] Robert Booth, a spokesman for Glasgow City Council said:
We don't believe the integrity of the bridge is affected. The Clyde Arc is designed to allow for the removal of one of the bridge supports at a time for repair and maintenance without affecting its operation. However, our number one priority is public safety and until we are completely satisfied the bridge is safe to use, it will remain closed.
A detailed inspection on 24 January found a stress fracture in a second support cable stay, like the one which had failed previously. Engineers determined that all of these connectors would have to be replaced; rather than a brief closure the bridge would have to remain closed for six months. [6] In addition traffic on the river below was also halted. [7] In March Nuttall began installing five temporary saddle frames atop the bridge's arch; these allowed the weight of the bridge to be supported without the hangers. This allowed them to replace defective fork connectors at the top and bottom of each hanger. [6]
The bridge recommenced on 28 June 2008 with just two of its four lanes in use, having had all the cast steel connectors replaced with milled steel connectors. [8] Once reopened, Glasgow City Council estimated that 6,500 crossings will be made every day using the bridge. [9]
New Civil Engineer reported subcontractor Watson Steel Structures was suing Macalloy, the supplier of the failed connectors, for £1.8 million. Watson alleged components obtained from Macalloy did not meet British Standards or their own specifications; parts were inadequately manufactured, and did not tally with test certificates provided by the firm. Macalloy denied the claim and countered Watson Steel Structures Ltd had only specified minimum yield stress for the components. [10] [11] [12]
The River Clyde is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde in Scotland. It is the ninth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the second or third longest in Scotland. It runs through the major city of Glasgow. Historically, it was important to the British Empire because of its role in shipbuilding and trade. To the Romans, it was Clota, and in the early medieval Cumbric language, it was known as Clud or Clut. It was central to the Kingdom of Strathclyde.
The Kingston Bridge is a balanced cantilever dual-span ten lane road bridge made of triple-cell segmented prestressed concrete box girders crossing the River Clyde in Glasgow, Scotland.
The Clyde Tunnel is a crossing beneath the River Clyde in Glasgow, Scotland for road traffic, cyclists and pedestrians. Two parallel tunnel tubes connect the districts of Whiteinch to the north and Govan to the south in the west of the city.
The Finnieston Crane or Stobcross Crane is a disused giant cantilever crane in the centre of Glasgow, Scotland. It is no longer operational, but is retained as a symbol of the city's engineering heritage. The crane was used for loading cargo, in particular steam locomotives, onto ships to be exported around the world.
Finnieston is an area of Glasgow, Scotland, situated on the north bank of the River Clyde roughly between the city's West End and the city centre.
Tradeston is a small district in the Scottish city of Glasgow adjacent to the city centre on the south bank of the River Clyde. The name reflected its role as a primarily dockland area with a large number of warehouses and wharves along the riverside were vessels would be unloaded. It merges to the south and west with Kingston, and the two districts are often considered one and the same.
Glasgow Harbour in the following paragraphs is about a private sector urban regeneration scheme at Partick in the West End of the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It is not the history and development of the wider and internationally famous Glasgow Harbour from Glasgow Green to Clydebank which developed from the early 1800s and witnessed the birth and growth of modern shipbuilding and shipping.
The Glasgow Inner Ring Road is a partially completed ring road encircling the city centre of Glasgow, Scotland. Construction of the roads began in 1965, and half of its circumference was completed by 1972 - forming part of the wider M8 motorway, but no further construction was made and the remaining plans were formally abandoned in 1980.
Clyde Fastlink is a high frequency bus rapid transit system in Glasgow, Scotland. The system was designed to provide greater connectivity and faster journey times between Glasgow City Centre and the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Govan, as well as to several other key developments along the north and south banks of the Clyde Waterfront.
The Glasgow Bridge spans the River Clyde in Glasgow linking the city centre to Laurieston, Tradeston and Gorbals. Formerly known as Broomielaw Bridge, it is at the bottom of Jamaica Street near Central Station, and is colloquially known as the Jamaica Bridge.
The 20 km long Clyde Waterfront Regeneration, launched in 2003, embraced a section of the River Clyde in Scotland that runs from Glasgow Green in the city's center to Dumbarton down river. This scene focussed on earlier initiatives underway from the 1980s, and as a separate marketing tool, with several local authorities involved, came to an end in 2014.
The Tradeston Bridge is a pedestrian bridge across the River Clyde in Glasgow which opened on 14 May 2009. It links the districts of Anderston to Tradeston and the neighbouring district of Kingston – the aim of the bridge being to aid the regeneration of Tradeston by giving it a direct link to the city's financial district on the western side of the city centre.
Bell's Bridge is a pedestrian bridge spanning the River Clyde in Glasgow, Scotland. A swivelling swing bridge, it was constructed in 1988 to coincide with the Glasgow Garden Festival, it allowed pedestrians to cross from the main exhibition site to the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre on the other side of the river.
Broomielaw is a major thoroughfare in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It runs beside the River Clyde, on its north bank looking over to Tradeston. Both sides have been marketed as the city's International Financial Services District.
The Great Scottish Run is a series of mass-participation road running events, held annually in the streets of Glasgow, Scotland in October. The event began as a full marathon in 1979, but later changed to a weekend of shorter events. The weekend now includes short events for children, a 10K roadrace, and a half marathon. The 2013 event, which was sponsored by the Bank of Scotland, featured over 30,000 competitors. It is the largest mass-participation sporting event in Scotland.
The Glasgow Harbour Tunnel Rotundas are two red brick stone rotundas which flank the River Clyde in Glasgow, Scotland. The North Rotunda is located on Tunnel Street in the Finnieston area of Glasgow with the South Rotunda at Plantation Place in Govan.
McCalls Special Products Ltd is a British manufacturer of steel bar and cable components for tensioned concrete, ground anchors, curtain walling, and steel structures. It operates under the Macalloy brand and claims to be a world leader in that market.
The Govan-Partick Bridge is a new bridge under construction in Glasgow, Scotland, across the River Clyde, close to the Riverside Museum. To allow ships past, its swing bridge main span can rotate to align with the south shore.
Kingston is an area of Glasgow, Scotland, from which the Kingston Bridge takes its name. Together with Ibrox, it forms one of the 56 neighbourhoods of Glasgow defined by Glasgow City Council for operational purposes. The area was assigned to Ward 54 until 2007 when it was reclassified as part of the Govan ward.
Kelvinhaugh is a neighbourhood in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated directly north of the River Clyde in the West End of the city.
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