Great Bernera Bridge
Great Bernera Bridge | |||
Location Map ( geo) | |||
| |||
From: | Lewis | ||
To: | Great Bernera | ||
County | |||
Ross-shire | |||
Highway Authority | |||
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar | |||
Opening Date | |||
1953 | |||
On road(s) | |||
B8059 | |||
The bridge to Great Bernera is the most northerly of the inter-island crossings in the Western Isles. It was opened in 1953 and was the first example of pre-stressed concrete girders being used in a UK bridge. 25 local men were employed to build the bridge, which cost £70,000. The bridge is comparatively short, at about 100m, and has two intermediate piers. The deck is single carriageway throughout, although the approach roads on the B8059 are both S2. The B8059 terminates just a short way onto the island, the onward road being unclassified.
Today, the bridge provides an interesting diversion on the tourist trail, guarded over by three standing stones on Great Bernera and leading to the Iron Age village buried in the dunes at the island's north end.
History
The Bridge was the first time that any sort of reliable service to the 'mainland' of Lewis had been available to the island's residents. Before that, most island families owned boats, and some of them were available for hire, so the bridge completely changed the way of life on the island.
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