North Bridge (Hawick)

Until 2000 the A7 ran through the middle of the small town of Hawick, after crossing the River Teviot on the old North Bridge. However, in 2000 a new bridge was built alongside the old bridge, and the A7 re-routed out of the town centre along the former end of the B6399 to cross the Teviot at Albert Bridge instead.

The Old Bridge

There doesn't seem to be a lot of information on the old bridge available, except for a plaque on the bridge itself which states that the bridge carried the Hawick to Edinburgh Road from 1832 to 2000. It therefore seems sensible to assume that the bridge standing today was constructed in 1832. However, closer inspection of the actual bridge shows that it has been widened at least once in its life, and as such widenings often seem to have occurred in the early Victorian era, it is possible that 1832 is the date the bridge was widened, and that the core is much older.

The bridge itself consists of two arches, the northern one spanning the main river channel, and the southern acting as a regular flood arch. While the spandrels are rubble, the arch rings, parapets and central piers are all dressed stone in a classical style.

The Waverley Bridge

The New Bridge

Lying a little distance downstream of the old bridge, the New Waverley Bridge is a single span concrete deck which crosses the river on an incline, rising from Mart Street to North Bridge Roundabout. The deck is supported by deep steel girders under the pavements. The concrete parapets have light relief decoration, albeit just a series of framed panels, and are topped with metal handrails.