Clackmannanshire Bridge

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Clackmannanshire Bridge

Drochaid Chlach Mhannainn
Upper Forth Crossing.jpg
Clackmannanshire Bridge
Coordinates 56°04′22″N3°44′12″W / 56.07285°N 3.736725°W / 56.07285; -3.736725
CarriesMotor vehicles
(A876 road)
Cyclists
Pedestrians
Crosses Firth of Forth
Locale Fife (North bank), Falkirk (South bank)
Official nameClackmannanshire Bridge
Maintained by BEAR Scotland
Preceded by A91 road
Followed by Kincardine Bridge
Characteristics
DesignConcrete piers and post-tension box beam
Total length1.2 km (0.75 mi)
WidthThree lanes of traffic
No. of lanes 3 (1 northbound, 2 southbound)
History
Designer Benaim & WA Fairhurst
Constructed by Morgan Vinci
Construction cost£120 million
Opened19 November 2008
Statistics
Daily traffic 20,000 vehicles per day
Location
Clackmannanshire Bridge

The Clackmannanshire Bridge (Scottish Gaelic: Drochaid Chlach Mhannainn) 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. [1]

Contents

Background

Clackmannanshire Bridge (left) over the River Forth Bridges over the River Forth (geograph 4345256).jpg
Clackmannanshire Bridge (left) over the River Forth

The increasing levels of traffic using the existing Kincardine Bridge led to a public inquiry being held into options to ease traffic flow over the Forth and around the small town of Kincardine. The Kincardine Bridge was the main access across the river for heavy goods vehicles during stormy weather when the Forth Road Bridge would not allow high-sided vehicles to cross during strong winds. In 2000 proposals were put forward for a number of alternatives, one of which was a new crossing running north-northwest of the existing bridge, bypassing the town of Kincardine altogether.[ citation needed ]

In 2005 the new crossing was given the go-ahead, and construction began in June 2006, with the sod-cutting ceremony performed by the Scottish Transport Minister, Tavish Scott, accompanied by the Earl of Elgin who as a boy had performed the ceremony for the Kincardine Bridge. [2]

The bridge was officially opened by Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond on 28 November 2008. At the ceremony, Salmond said: "This is a world-class infrastructure project which will cut journey times, improve central Scotland connections, and provide a unique gateway to Clackmannanshire, Fife and Falkirk". [3]

Description

The final cost of the project was £120 million and it was designed to accommodate about 20,000 vehicle movements per day. [3] The bridge deck is 1.2 km (0.75 mi) long, weighs 35,000 tonnes (34,450 long tons; 38,580 short tons) and sits on 25 piers which are each filled with 840 tonnes (830 long tons; 930 short tons) of concrete. [4]

Archaeology

Archaeological work, undertaken by Headland Archaeology, in early 2006, in advance of the construction of the northern approach road for the bridge found evidence of human occupation of the area from between the Early Neolithic and Medieval periods. The archaeologists found the largest (206 vessels) and best-dated assemblage of Middle Neolithic Impressed Ware in Scotland, to that date. Other notable finds were four Early to Middle Bronze Age roundhouses dating to c 1750‒1300 BC; a large pit containing parts of at least 37 pots, and two large double-ring roundhouses, an oval building, and ancillary structures and features dating to the Middle to Late Bronze Age i.e. 1300‒900 BC. There is also evidence of activity during the Iron Age and two medieval corn-drying kilns. [5]

Naming

The bridge is positioned in an area where three council area boundaries converge. The north approach road to the bridge leaves from Clackmannanshire, the bridge itself standing in Fife, and the south approach to the bridge is within Falkirk. This means that the span of the bridge is within Fife; however, it can only be accessed by travelling through either Clackmannanshire or Falkirk council areas. Due to this unique situation a minor row over naming broke out between those local authorities with a vested interest. [6] Clackmannanshire Council voted to suggest "Clackmannanshire Bridge" - even though two other councils, Fife and Falkirk, are involved and no part of the bridge would be inside the Clackmannanshire area. Fife Council responded with "Kingdom Bridge" (referring to the historic kingdom of Fife). Other suggestions included "Wallace Bridge" after Sir William Wallace. [7] Following a public consultation, the Scottish Government announced on 1 October 2008 that the name Clackmannanshire Bridge was to be adopted. [8]

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">Fife</span> Council area of Scotland

Fife is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire. By custom it is widely held to have been one of the major Pictish kingdoms, known as Fib, and is still commonly known as the Kingdom of Fife within Scotland. A person from Fife is known as a Fifer. In older documents the county was very occasionally known by the anglicisation Fifeshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Firth of Forth</span> Estuary of Scotlands River Forth

The Firth of Forth is the estuary, or firth, of several Scottish rivers including the River Forth. It meets the North Sea with Fife on the north coast and Lothian on the south.

<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">Alloa</span> Town in Clackmannanshire, Scotland

Alloa is a town in Clackmannanshire in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It is on the north bank of the Forth at the spot where some say it ceases to be the River Forth and becomes the Firth of Forth. Alloa is south of the Ochil Hills, 5.5 miles (8.9 km) east of Stirling and 7.9 miles (12.7 km) north of Falkirk; by water Alloa is 25 miles (40 km) from Granton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stirlingshire</span> Historic county in Scotland

Stirlingshire or the County of Stirling is a historic county and registration county of Scotland. Its county town is Stirling.

<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">Kincardine Bridge</span> Bridge in Scotland

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

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clackmannan</span> Human settlement in Scotland

Clackmannan, is a small town and civil parish set in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. Situated within the Forth Valley, Clackmannan is 1.8 miles (2.9 km) south-east of Alloa and 3.2 miles (5.1 km) south of Tillicoultry. The town is within the county of Clackmannanshire, of which it was formerly the county town, until Alloa overtook it in size and importance.

Kincardine or Kincardine-on-Forth is a small 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">St Cyrus</span> Human settlement in Scotland

St Cyrus or Saint Cyrus, formerly Ecclesgreig is a village in the far south of Aberdeenshire, Scotland.

<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">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. It was originally built to serve settlements along the north shore of the Firth of Forth, between Alloa and Dunfermline.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First Scotland East</span> British bus operator

First South East & Central Scotland, formerly known as First Scotland East, was an operator of both local and regional bus services in Clackmannanshire, East Dunbartonshire, East Lothian, Falkirk, Fife, Midlothian, North Lanarkshire, Scottish Borders, Stirling and West Lothian, as well as the cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow, Scotland. It was a subsidiary of FirstGroup, which operates bus, rail and tram services across the United Kingdom and Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queensferry Crossing</span> Road bridge across the Firth of Forth, Scotland

The Queensferry Crossing is a road bridge in Scotland. It was built alongside the existing Forth Road Bridge and the Forth Bridge. It carries the M90 motorway across the Firth of Forth between Edinburgh, at South Queensferry, and Fife, at North Queensferry.

Events from the year 2008 in Scotland

The A977 is an A road in Scotland, connecting the Kincardine Bridge in Fife to the M90 motorway at Kinross.

References

  1. ↑ BBC news report, 1 October 2008
  2. ↑ "Sites and Monument Record: Kincardine Bridge; new (Upper Forth Crossing or Clackmannanshire Bridge) (SMR 1255)". Falkirk Community Trust. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
  3. 1 2 News | Herald Scotland
  4. ↑ "10 years of the Clackmannanshire Bridge". Transport Scotland. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  5. ↑ "Vol 77 (2018): Neolithic and Bronze Age Occupation at Meadowend Farm, Clackmannanshire: Pots, Pits and Roundhouses | Scottish Archaeological Internet Reports". journals.socantscot.org. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
  6. ↑ "Troubled waters for bridge naming". BBC News. 15 December 2006. Retrieved 2 January 2010.
  7. ↑ "Council solution over bridge name". BBC News. 14 March 2007. Retrieved 30 April 2010.
  8. ↑ "Name chosen for new Forth bridge". BBC News. 1 October 2008.


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