Water of Ae Bridge

The Water of Ae is crossed by the A701 at Ae Bridgend. There are two neighbouring bridges across the river, the old stone arch bridge and the new crossing immediately downstream.

The Old Bridge

Looking across the bridge

The old bridge consists of two stone arches, with the central pier in the riverbed. The stonework is of Red Sandstone trim with contrasting grey infill, and with semi-turreted piers, string lines and coping on the parapets it makes quite a striking sight between the trees for the traffic speeding past on the new bridge.

From the side, the structure suggests that the road is slightly hump-backed. However, this is a clever trick, as the height of the 'parapets' is higher at the ends than in the middle. Also, when looking across the bridge it appears that resurfacing has levelled any residual hump out, with the low parapets dropping at either end. In the centre, over the piers, two semi-circular pedestrian refuges were the only safe point for pedestrians on the pavement-less bridge.

The New Bridge

The new bridge

Providing a straighter route for the A701, the new bridge now lies a little downstream and avoids a double bend to the north. It too is constructed with the local red sandstone, with grey concrete for the deck and central pier