Bothwell Bridge

Bothwell Bridge

Bothwell Bridge carries the B7071 across the River Clyde between Hamilton and Bothwell. For many years, however, it was the A74 that crossed the bridge, carrying a large proportion of the traffic heading south from Glasgow to southern Lanarkshire and beyond to England. The construction of the nearby M74 motorway in the 1960s relieved traffic across the bridge dramatically, although it remains busy as the northern connection between the motorway and Hamilton. On the south bank of the Clyde, the road ramps up to pass over the A725, East Kilbride Expressway which was cut through under the road in the 1980s. This modern dual carriageway has no direct junction with the B7071 at this point, but can be accessed from the nearby motorway junction.

The bridge that stands today is much older, in part at least, than most people probably imagine. The downstream side of the structure is dated to c1490, making it one of Scotland's oldest bridges. It was subsequently widened on the upstream side in 1826 and again in 1871, although this latter widening is thought to have consisted of the cantilevered pavements replacing either parapet. The bridge consists of four stone arches, with the three stone piers standing in the river. These are protected by massive triangular cutwaters, which rise up with tapering tops to road level. The oldest part of the bridge has stone ribs under the arches, while the newer portion is smooth underneath. The bridge carries a fairly standard width S2 carriageway between wide pavements. As these are cantilevered out over the sides of the bridge, low box section crash barriers sit just behind the kerb line on either side to prevent traffic straying onto the pavements. Elegant pierced metal parapet railings then stand at the edge of the bridge, with small metal pillars separating the panels above the bridge piers. These railings extend beyond the main bridge structure by varying amounts at each corner.