South Ford Causeway

As its name suggests, this causeway crosses the South Ford between South Uist and Benbecula. It carries the A865 across the tidal channel, which can still be walked across with reasonable safety at low tides.

History

The Bridge

With the project planned before the outbreak of war, the South Ford Bridge gained unexpected impetus to connect the Airbase (now the airport) on Benbecula to the military ranges on South Uist, and its ferry port at Lochboisdale. It was completed in 1941 and opened in 1942, and consisted of an 8-span Concrete Bridge between Benbecula and Creagorry Island, and a further 74 spans across to South Uist. The whole construction was about 800m long and single track throughout. Contractor was Fisher Bros. Ltd. of Edinburgh. Expected cost was £50,000.

1980s replacement

The single bridge on the causeway

As the 1980s dawned, it became clear that the old bridge was in need of replacement, not only from a structural point of view, but also due to the volume of traffic it was now carrying. The council initially carried out extensive studies into the effects a causeway might have on the tides, and then decided that a single-span bridge between Benbecula and Creagorry Island would be sufficient. The main crossing is all a causeway.

The new Causeway crosses in the same general location as the old bridge, although it was necessarily built alongside the bridge. However, the crossing to Creagorry Island is entirely new, with the old alignment on Benbecula still partially in use as an unclassified road.

Links

• Comhairle nan Eilean Siar page on Causeways