Until 2000, Albert Bridge in Hawick carried the lowly B6399. However, in 2000 major works saw the re-routing of the A7 away from the town centre and so over this bridge instead. The bridge itself is a 3 arch stone structure, with both piers on dry land, the southern one on a small island between two channels. The northern arch is a flood arch. The central arch appears slightly larger, but with the amount of vegetation on the north bank, and the island, it is difficult to get a clear view.
The bridge appears to have been built on the site of what is thought to be the first bridge in Hawick, originally built in 1741. Its fate is uncertain, although the North Bridge downstream had been completed by 1865 when the current ALbert Bridge was constructed, so the town was not cut in half at the time!
Drumlanrig Bridge
Drumlanrig Bridge
Lying just a short distance away on the Slitrig Water, and crossed by the B6399 (formerly the A7), Drumlanrig Bridge is a contrast to its near neighbour. The appearance is of a rather ugly, squat stone-faced 2 arch concrete bridge. However, this appears to be hiding a much more interesting history. The bridge was originally built in 1777/8 and then widened in 1828. A cantilevered steel footway was added on the downstream side in c1900, but this was later removed in 1977 when the bridge was widened again, and strengthened, essentially by encasing the structure in reinforced concrete, to allow it to take the loads of a trunk road.
