Kincardine Bridge
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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 A876 road, 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 nearing 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 is now closed for around 12–18 months for upgrading as the new crossing is complete. It will therefore not be until 2010 that the full benefit of the new motorway and second bridge will be realised.
On 1 October 2008 it was announced that the new bridge would be called the "Clackmannanshire Bridge".[1] The second bridge opened opened on 19 November 2008. Traffic through the village of Kincardine is expected to be cut by 80% as a result. [2]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Kincardine Local History Group - Wonders of World Engineering Article detailing the construction of Kincardine Bridge
- Gazeteer for Scotland
- - video clip of what the new road and crossing will be like
Coordinates: 56°3′54.5″N 3°43′38.2″W / 56.065139°N 3.727278°W
