Allt Chonoglais Bridge

The bridge built in 1931, shortly before work began to refurbish it

This bridge stands about a mile south of the small village of Bridge of Orchy, just to the south of the B8074 junction. It carries the A82 across the River Kinglass / Allt Chonoglais. It was one of 4 three-span bridges built in the early 1930s on the new Rannoch Moor road, the new route for the A82. Between 2005 and 2010 the other three bridges (Lairig Eilde Bridge; Achnambeithach Bridge; Ba Bridge) were all replaced, and so in 2012 work started on this structure too. The existing structure is suffering the effects of concrete cancer, with the outer facing of concrete flaking off and exposing rusty reinforcement inside. Indeed, some steel mesh can be found in the river channel, amongst the concrete rubble.

The bridge built in c1931 was a three span concrete structure with stone parapets and stone cladding around the piers. The bridge crosses the river on the skew, although the piers are placed in line with the flow of the channel. As the channel narrows slightly, this means that the two piers in the river actually point slightly towards each other.

The Rebuilt Bridge

The planned works involve the construction of a temporary bailey bridge across the river on the upstream side, removal of the deck of the existing bridge, refurbishment of the piers and abutments, and then finally the construction of a new deck across the top, similar to the one put in place at the Ba Bridge further north. In spring 2013 the new Girders were installed, ready for the construction of the new deck.

Glen Orchy Bridge

The B8074 bridge

A short distance down stream, the B8074 has to cross the same river as it heads down Glen Orchy. The bridge here is a 19th Century single stone arch across the river.