Kincardine Bridge

Last updated

Kincardine Bridge

"Drochaid Chinn Chàrdain"
Kincardine Bridge.jpg
The Kincardine Bridge on the River Forth
Coordinates 56°3′54.5″N3°43′38.2″W / 56.065139°N 3.727278°W / 56.065139; -3.727278
Carries A985 road
Crosses Forth River
Locale Kincardine, Fife, Scotland, United Kingdom
Characteristics
Design Swing bridge with mix of secondary span structure types
Total length822 metres (2,697 ft) [1]
Longest span111 metres (364 ft) [1]
History
Designer Sir Alexander Gibb & Partners [2]
Construction start1932 [2]
Construction end1936 [2]
Location
Kincardine Bridge

The Kincardine Bridge is a road bridge crossing the Firth of Forth from Falkirk council area to Kincardine, Fife, Scotland.

Contents

History

A map of the bridge and the surrounding river from 1945 Kincardine Bridgemap1945.jpg
A map of the bridge and the surrounding river from 1945

The bridge was constructed between 1932 and 1936, to a design by Sir Alexander Gibb & Partners, Consulting Engineers, [3] and Architect, 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 (24 km) to the south-east. It first opened to traffic on 29 October 1936. Following a final opening on the 31 January 1988, the bridge was permanently closed, rendering it a fixed structure.

The bridge was constructed with a swinging central section which remained in use until 1988, that would allow larger ships to sail upstream to the small port at Alloa.

The bridge's no-longer-operable swing span viewed from the new Clackmannanshire Bridge Kincardine Bridge swing span - from Clackmannanshire Bridge in 2014.jpg
The bridge's no-longer-operable swing span viewed from the new Clackmannanshire Bridge

The bridge is part of the A985 road (formerly A876), and carries a single lane in each direction. Until the opening of the Clackmannanshire Bridge in 2008, it was the customary diversion route for traffic north from Edinburgh and eastern Scotland when the Forth Road Bridge was closed or under repair. As a result of the additional traffic using the bridge at these times, joining the high volume of regular commuter traffic, the town of Kincardine was frequently congested.

In 2023 work began to replace a section of the southern viaduct which had been assessed in 1984 as 'substandard' and reinforced in 1992 with steel supports. [4]

Engineering

Power for swinging the bridge was provided in the engine room, in the base of the centre pier, which was itself supplied with electricity from the Fife shore, by underwater cable. The swing section weighs 1,600 tons and rotates on a radial assembly of 60 solid cast steel rollers.

The entire bridge opening procedure was controlled from a beautifully maintained control room, which has retained all the original fittings and open switchboards. The control room is suspended in a superstructure of the swing section, above the road level.

The opening was controlled automatically, by the original GEC electrical switchgear.

In the engine room a 25 horsepower hydraulic pump was activated, retracting the wedges and blocking points. At this point, the central swing span would be free to rest on the rollers, thus the bridge was ready to swing. By this point, the safety gates would have also descended, blocking further traffic.

Two 50 horsepower, 440v electric motors induced rotation from large trains of gears on either side of the engine room. The initial opening process took around 2 minutes. The gearing produced a 171:1 reduction, and the bridge revolved slowly on a circular cast steel rack, with 224 machined teeth.

During the rotation, the entire 1,600 ton weight of the swing span rests upon 60 cast steel rollers in the central pier beneath the engine room. The rollers are 16 inches long, are tapered and have an average diameter of 20 inches. If the bridge was to sit with its full weight on the rollers for any length of time, the rollers would become distorted, preventing a smooth passage during the swinging process. It is for this reason that wedges are used to lift the bridge off the rollers, after each opening is completed.

While the bridge is now a fixed structure, the control and engine rooms are preserved by the Bo'ness Heritage Trust. The bridge was constructed in the open position, and during the opening ceremony in 1936, it was closed into its current position, to allow the first road vehicles to cross.

The second bridge

The original bridge, at over 70 years old, was identified by the Scottish Executive as being in need of replacement. The new Clackmannanshire Bridge [5] was opened on 19 November 2008. [6] The original bridge was given Category A listed status by Historic Scotland in 2005, [7] [8] and was closed temporarily for upgrading works in 2011.

With the opening of the new bridge, the Kincardine Bridge was re-numbered as part of the A985 while the new Clackmannanshire Bridge became part of the re-routed A876, forming the Kincardine bypass.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clackmannanshire</span> Historic county and council area of Scotland

Clackmannanshire, or the County of Clackmannan, is a historic county, council area, registration county and lieutenancy area in Scotland, bordering the council areas of Stirling, Fife, and Perth and Kinross. In terms of historic counties it borders Perthshire, Stirlingshire and Fife.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Forth Road Bridge</span> Suspension bridge spanning the Firth of Forth in east-central Scotland

The Forth Road Bridge is a suspension bridge in east central Scotland. The bridge opened in 1964 and at the time was the longest suspension bridge in the world outside the United States. The bridge spans the Firth of Forth, connecting Edinburgh, at South Queensferry, to Fife, at North Queensferry. It replaced a centuries-old ferry service to carry vehicular traffic, cyclists and pedestrians across the Forth; railway crossings are made by the nearby Forth Bridge, opened in 1890.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">River Forth</span> River in central Scotland

The River Forth is a major river in central Scotland, 47 km (29 mi) long, which drains into the North Sea on the east coast of the country. Its drainage basin covers much of Stirlingshire in Scotland's Central Belt. The Gaelic name for the upper reach of the river, above Stirling, is Abhainn Dubh, meaning "black river". The name for the river below the tidal reach is Uisge For.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Millau Viaduct</span> Cable-stayed bridge in Occitanie, France

The Millau Viaduct is a multispan cable-stayed bridge completed in 2004 across the gorge valley of the Tarn near Millau in the Aveyron department in the Occitanie Region, in Southern France. The design team was led by engineer Michel Virlogeux and English architect Norman Foster. As of October 2023, it is the tallest bridge in the world, having a structural height of 343 metres (1,125 ft).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">M876 motorway</span> Motorway in Scotland

The M876 motorway is a motorway in Scotland. The motorway runs from Denny to Airth in the Falkirk council area, forming an approach road to the Kincardine Bridge. It was opened in 1980.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pyrmont Bridge</span> Heritage-listed bridge across Cockle Bay in Sydney, Australia

The Pyrmont Bridge, a heritage-listed swing bridge across Cockle Bay, is located in Darling Harbour, part of Port Jackson, west of the central business district in the City of Sydney local government area of New South Wales, Australia. Opened in 1902, the bridge initially carried motor vehicle traffic via the Pyrmont Bridge Road between the central business district and Pyrmont. Since 1981 the bridge has carried pedestrian and bicycle traffic only, as motor vehicles were diverted to adjacent freeway overpasses. The bridge was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 28 June 2002, the centenary of its opening.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barton Swing Aqueduct</span> Navigable aqueduct in Greater Manchester, England

The Barton Swing Aqueduct is a moveable navigable aqueduct in Barton upon Irwell, Greater Manchester, England. It carries the Bridgewater Canal across the Manchester Ship Canal. The swinging action allows large vessels using the ship canal to pass through and smaller craft, both narrowboats and broad-beam barges, to cross over the top. The aqueduct, the first and only swing aqueduct in the world, is a Grade II* listed building, and considered a major feat of Victorian civil engineering. Designed by Sir Edward Leader Williams and built by Andrew Handyside and Company of Derby, the swing bridge opened in 1894 and remains in regular use.

Kincardine or Kincardine-on-Forth is a town on the north shore of the Firth of Forth, in Fife, Scotland. The town was given the status of a burgh of barony in 1663. It was at one time a reasonably prosperous minor port. The townscape retains many good examples of Scottish vernacular buildings from the 17th, 18th and early 19th centuries, although it was greatly altered during the construction of Kincardine Bridge in 1932–1936. It is in the civil parish of Tulliallan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stirling–Alloa–Kincardine rail link</span> Railway line in Scotland

The Stirling–Alloa–Kincardine rail link is a completed railway project to re-open 21 kilometres (13 mi) of railway between Stirling, Alloa and Kincardine in Scotland. The route opened to rail traffic in March 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alloa railway station</span> Railway station in Clackmannanshire, Scotland

Alloa railway station is a railway station in the town of Alloa, Clackmannanshire, Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stirling and Dunfermline Railway</span> Former railway in Scotland

The Stirling and Dunfermline Railway was a railway in Scotland connecting Stirling and Dunfermline. It was planned by the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway to get access to the mineral deposits on the line of route, but also as a tactical measure to keep the rival Caledonian Railway out of Fife.

The Kincardine Line is a railway in Clackmannanshire and Fife, Scotland. The line, which was opened in two stages by the North British Railway, was built to serve settlements between Alloa and Dunfermline along the north shore of the Firth of Forth. It was a never profitable railway; passenger services were withdrawn in 1930, goods in 1962.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clackmannanshire Bridge</span> Bridge in Fife , Falkirk

The Clackmannanshire Bridge is a road bridge over the Firth of Forth in Scotland which opened to traffic on 19 November 2008. Prior to 1 October 2008 the bridge was referred to as the upper Forth crossing while the name was chosen.

The Alloa Railway was intended to bridge the River Forth linking Alloa with the south without using a ferry.

The Forth and Clyde Junction Railway was a railway line in Scotland which ran from Stirling to Balloch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jamestown Viaduct</span> Bridge

The Jamestown Viaduct is part of the northern approach to the Forth Bridge in Scotland. It crosses the hamlet of Jamestown and the village of North Queensferry in Fife.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alloa Swing Bridge</span> Bridge in Throsk to Alloa, United Kingdom

The Alloa Swing Bridge was a railway swing bridge across the River Forth that connected Throsk and Alloa as part of the Alloa Railway. The structure was in use from 1885 until 1968.

The Railways of Kinross were a local network of three rural railways which made the town of Kinross in Scotland their objective in the 1850s.

Several mineral railways were constructed around Dunfermline in western Fife, Scotland, in the eighteenth century and later. Their purpose was to convey minerals to market from the outcropping coal deposits that had encouraged industrial activity in the area from an early date.

The Dunfermline and Queensferry Railway was a railway company founded to form part of a rail and ferry route between Dunfermline and Edinburgh, in Scotland. It was authorised in 1873 and its promoters had obtained informal promises from the larger North British Railway that the NBR would provide financial help, and also operate the ferry and the necessary railway on the southern side of the Firth of Forth.

References

  1. 1 2 "Heritage Locations – Scotland – Clackmannanshire – Kincardine Swing Bridge". London: The Transport Trust.
  2. 1 2 3 Kincardine Bridge at Structurae
  3. "The Kincardine Bridge: Celebrating 85 Years". Scottish Roads Archive.
  4. "Kincardine Bridge Southern Piled Viaduct". BEAR Scotland.
  5. BBC news report, 1 October 2008
  6. Scottish Government, 'New bridge over Forth opens'.
  7. "Kincardine bridge swings to future Crossing built for car boom given listed protection". HeraldScotland. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  8. Historic Environment Scotland. "Kincardine Bridge (Category A Listed Building) (LB50078)" . Retrieved 26 March 2019.