Arthurs Bridge

Arthur's Bridge

Arthur's Bridge carries the B9103 across the River Lossie a couple of miles south east of Lossiemouth on the Moray Coast. A wooden bridge was first built here in 1850, by local man Arthur Duff. It is not clear whether it was this bridge which survived until the 1960s, or a replacement, but in 1963/4 a new three span concrete bridge was built. Typical of many designs at the time, the central span was a full arch, flanked by two cantilevered half arches, which put their load onto the piers on the river banks rather than the abutments. The river ordinarily passes through the central arch, the two flanking arches primarily being flood arches. The bridge carried a standard two way road, with a pavement on the upstream side, and metal railings as parapets.

Unfortunately, a 26T weight limit had to be imposed on the crossing, but was frequently flouted causing damage to the structure. In c2021 the weight limit was lowered to 7.5T, and traffic lights installed to restrict the bridge to alternating one-way traffic. At the same time, traffic islands and kerbing were installed to make the old eastbound lane a cycle lane. Even these measures, however, proved insufficient, and the council are currently intending to replace the bridge in 2023.

Links

• P&J News report from March 2021