Banff Bridge

Banff Bridge carries the A98 across the River Deveron between the coastal towns of Banff and Macduff. The bridge is a 7 arch stone structure which was widened on both sides in 1881 but still carries a comparatively narrow roadway between narrow pavements. The first bridge across the Deveron here was built in 1765, but only lasted three years. The ferry was resumed, but it too succumbed to a storm, and so the new bridge was built. Apparently taking 7 years to build, the stone was quarried locally, which suggests some problems along the way!

The 7 arches of the bridge rise to the centre which is the largest arch, and this gives the road a very gentle hump in the middle. When the bridge was widened, some of the decorative stonework was removed from the parapets and spandrels of the original structure and re-used on the new parapets. This includes the blind occuli in the spandrels. The original cutwaters remain, with very slim 'pilasters' supporting the new arches which are presumably also tied firmly into the original structure.

Junction

As soon as the A98 touches down on the east bank of the river, it swings sharply northwards, to follow the river below the steep slope of the Hill of Doune. Heading off to the south along the river bank is the A947 which terminates here after a long cross country journey from Dyce on the edge of Aberdeen. The two roads meet at a simple give way T junction, although there is enough room to allow large vehicles to manouvere safely.

Routes

Route	To	Notes
A98	Banff, Inverness (A96)
A98	Macduff, Fraserburgh
A947	Turriff, Aberdeen