Inverurie Bridge carries the B993 across the River Don between Port Elphinstone and Inverurie. Before the town was bypassed, the bridge carried the A96, which is probably why the old bridge was replaced in 1924 with the current, elegant concrete structure. The bridge has three spans, with the two slender piers stood in the river bed. The central span is fully arched, while the two flanking spans have a cantilever appearance, arched at the piers, and meeting the abutments more or less horizontal, despite all three spans being a similar width. This gives an unusual, but symmetrical appearance. Although the piers descend as slender concrete legs, there is a more substantial structure under the deck, all protected by large concrete cutwaters, the southern one appearing to have become the end of a long tapering island downstream of the bridge.
The bridge carries a two lane roadway between pavements and perforated concrete parapets. These have blank panels at regular intervals, those over the abutments and the centre of the centre span being larger and carrying ornate street lights. On the southern approach, the wing walls are plain, but the small piers topped with matching street lights continue, while to the north, the wing walls match the perforated parapets as they curve around the mini roundabout.
Old Bridge
Prior to being replaced in 1924, the old Inverurie Bridge was a three span stone arch structure, with piers in a similar place, but carrying a narrower roadway, which stepped out considerably over the abutments. This bridge dated back to 1791 according to the plaque on the north east corner of the current bridge. Old photos show a fairly plain structure, with the arch rings in ashlar of a slightly different shade to the rubble used for the rest of the structure. Large triangular cutwaters protected the piers and the southern approach had a substantially butressed retaining wall.
