Clyde Bridge

This article is about Clyde Bridge at Motherwell.
For Clyde's Bridge on the A702, see Clyde's Bridge.
For other Bridges over the Clyde, see the list at the bottom of the page or, see Template:Clyde.

Clyde Bridge carries the dual carriageway A723 across the River Clyde between Motherwell and Hamilton. It was built in 1928-32 on a more direct line than its predecessor, crossing the river at a skew. It was in use by February 1932. The bridge comprises three steel girder spans, with the piers founded in the riverbed. The stonework from the piers rises above the deck to form part of the parapet, with lamp columns mounted atop. Almost immediately on reaching land at the southern end, the A723 meets Hamilton Interchange on the M74, while at the northern end it cuts across the end of Strathclyde Country Park to enter Motherwell.

Hamilton Bridge

Clyde Bridge replaced a much older 5-arch stone bridge which sat a little to the south, crossing the river at right angles. The bridge has long since been demolished, but old photos show that the arches were graduated, the largest in the centre, in a manner often employed by Thomas Telford. Triangular cutwaters flanked the piers, and there appear to have been pilasters rising up to parapet level. The Motherwell end of the bridge lined up with Prentice Road on the north/east bank, the old main road then curving northwards, lost under modern housing, to rejoin the current route of the A723 just north of the crossroads.

Links

Aerial shots of Construction