Spey Bridge (Newtonmore)
Spey Bridge | |||||
Location Map ( geo) | |||||
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From: | Ralia | ||||
To: | Newtonmore | ||||
County | |||||
Inverness-shire | |||||
Highway Authority | |||||
Highland | |||||
Opening Date | |||||
1925-6 | |||||
Additional Information | |||||
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On road(s) | |||||
B9150 | |||||
The Spey Bridge at Newtonmore was built to carry the A9 across the river in the 1920s. It was one of eight bridges designed by the Engineer Sir Owen Williams and the Architect Maxwell Ayrton. This bridge, however, is the largest and most dramatic of the structures.
Maps from the early 1920s show a 'Spey Bridge' carrying the A9 across the river at this point. However, while it can be assumed that the older crossing was built by Thomas Telford as part of his upgrade of the route in the early 1800s, there seems to be little history in the records prior to the current bridge being built. He did build a bridge over the Spey, which consisted of 3 main arches and two flood arches on the north bank. However, it is not clear if it was this bridge that was demolished to make way for the new bridge.
The bridge itself consists of three spans over the river. As the southern bank is considerably higher, the bridge climbs from the north to the south, with the three arches reflecting this. The southern arch is the highest and widest, while the northern arch is the smallest. However, in normal conditions it is only the southern arch that actually spans the river channel. It is built out of Mass Concrete, as was the fashion at the time, and today carries the S2 B9150, as the A9 has been diverted onto the Newtonmore and Kingussie bypass, crossing the Spey further downstream on a new bridge.
Links
- David D Millers site on Owen Williams Bridges.
Spey Bridge (Newtonmore) | ||||||||||
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