Erskine Bridge
Erskine Bridge Drochaid Arasgain | |||||||
Location Map ( geo) | |||||||
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From: | Erskine | ||||||
To: | Old Kilpatrick | ||||||
County | |||||||
Dunbartonshire • Renfrewshire | |||||||
Highway Authority | |||||||
Transport Scotland | |||||||
Opening Date | |||||||
2nd July 1971 | |||||||
Toll | |||||||
Free. Toll abolished 2006. | |||||||
Additional Information | |||||||
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On road(s) | |||||||
A898 | |||||||
The Erskine Bridge carries the A898 across the River Clyde between Renfrewshire and Dunbartonshire to the west of Glasgow. It connects the M8 (via the M898) to the A82, providing a much needed link for through traffic. Now that the M74 extension is open, it should make the bridge an even better bet for long distance north-south traffic, as the M74 avoids some of the Kingston Bridge bottleneck.
Before the bridge was built, the Erskine Ferry crossed just upstream from the location of the bridge.
The Crossing
The Erskine Bridge crosses from Old Kilpatrick to Erskine, on opposite banks of the River Clyde and carries the D2 A898. At the north end, the A898 connects to the A82 via a free flow junction. At the south, the A898 becomes the M898 after a junction with the A726 to Erskine and beyond.
The central section of the Bridge is a cable-stay bridge with two piers on the river banks supporting the concrete deck of the roadway, however either side of this viaduct approaches span the shore, with both approaches curving eastwards before making landfall. The northern approach is supported by at least 7 more piers (the surrounding hillside is surrounded by woodland making it difficult to see without further investigation), while there are 4 more piers on the southern shore. As the approaches span land, the piers can be closer together, so removing the need for additional supports, however as the central span is much wider, to clear the Clyde and lift the roadway high enough for shipping to pass underneath, the cables are required to support the deck. The central span is 305m flanked by anchor spans of 110m each.
On the south shore, the bridge makes landfall fairly quickly, dipping to the A726 junction and crossing no more than a footpath and track on its way. However, to the north of the Clyde the bridge also crosses the Forth & Clyde Canal, A814 and West Highland Railway Line before touching down.
The deck has a deep centre section spanning between piers, with the cycle/foot ways cantilevered out in a slimmer section of concrete. On either side, in the angle between the two sections, there are rails for inspection carriages to run along, some of which can link up with caged ladders from the footways. The purpose of the other steel cages suspended under the bridge is uncertain.
History
The bridge and dual carriageway on 3.35 miles between Toll Plaza Interchange, Erskine (M898) to Old Kilpatrick Interchange (A82) was opened on 2 July 1971. Such was the occasion that BBC2 had a scheduled 1 hour 20 minutes programme at 2.25pm "H.R.H. Princess Anne opens the Erskine High Level Bridge". It was designed by Freeman Fox & Partners.
Listing
In 2018, the bridge was listed for its minimalistic design and importance in Scottish transport history.
Primary Destination
The Erskine Bridge is also a Primary Destination, which is widely signed on approaching routes. This is due to it being the lowest crossing point of the Clyde, and so it is used by many people to cross the river.
Emergency Telephones
In 2019, the four "K8" emergency telephone boxes (two pairs on the north and south sides of the river) along with their internal equipment were listed.
- North Pair (Cat: B)
- South Pair (Cat: B)
Routes
Route | To | Notes |
Greenock | ||
Paisley, Glasgow Airport | ||
Paisley, Glasgow Airport, Greenock (M8) | ||
Crianlarich | ||
Stirling | accessed via A82 | |
Glasgow, Crianlarich (A82) | ||
Glasgow | ||
Paisley, Erskine | ||
Duntocher, Hardgate, Bearsden | ||
Clydebank | ||
Old Kilpatrick | link between A82 and A814 | |
Bishopstone | ||
Paisley, Erskine |
Links
Erskine Bridge | ||||||
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