Erskine Bridge

Erskine Bridge
View of the Erskine Bridge from the south bank of the River Clyde
Coordinates	55°54′48″N 4°28′20″W / 55.9133°N 4.4721°W / 55.9133; -4.4721Coordinates: 55°54′48″N 4°28′20″W / 55.9133°N 4.4721°W / 55.9133; -4.4721
Carries	Motor vehicles, cyclists, pedestrians
Crosses	River Clyde
Locale	Erskine, Scotland
Official name	Erskine Bridge (A898)
Maintained by	Transport Scotland
Characteristics
Design	Box girder bridge
Material	Steel, concrete
Total length	1,321.87 m (4,336.8 ft)
Width	31.25 m (102.5 ft)
Height	45 m (148 ft)
Longest span	305 m (1,001 ft)
No. of spans	15
Load limit	500 Tonnes
Design life	120 Years
History
Architect	R.E. Slater
Designer	Dr William Brown
Constructed by	Freeman Fox & Partners, W.A.Fairhurst and Partners, Christiani & Nielsen, Lehane Mackenzie and Shand Ltd
Fabrication by	Fairfields-Mabey
Construction start	1967
Construction cost	£10.5 Million
Inaugurated	2 July 1971
Replaces	Erskine Ferry
Statistics
Daily traffic	~35,000 vehicles
Toll	Free

The Erskine Bridge is a multi span cable-stayed box girder bridge spanning the River Clyde in west central Scotland. The bridge connects West Dunbartonshire with Renfrewshire and can be used by all types of motor vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians. As well as crossing the Clyde, the bridge also crosses the Forth and Clyde Canal and the North Clyde railway line. A small part of Kilpatrick railway station is situated underneath the bridge at the north side. The bridge is part of the A898 road. On completion the bridge replaced the Erskine to Old Kilpatrick ferry service. A nearby hotel uses the name of the bridge. It is known as Erskine Bridge Hotel.

The bridge was designed by Dr William Brown (16 September 1928 – 16 March 2005). Brown was a structural engineer and bridge designer who specialised in suspension bridges. He was one of the principal designers at Freeman Fox & Partners (now Hyder Consulting) from 1956-85. Supervising engineer on the project was Dr Oleg Kerensky and the architect on site was R.E. Slater. There were several firms who constructed the bridge between 1967-71. The structural engineering was done by Freeman Fox & Partners and the steel fabrication was completed by Fairfields-Mabey. W.A.Fairhurst and Partners (now Fairhurst) designed and oversaw construction of the concrete piers and foundations. Christiani & Nielsen, Lehane Mackenzie and Shand Ltd were the contractors for the foundations and piers. The steel cable supplier was Bridon International. Force Technology were responsible for wind tunnel testing of the bridge. Steel was used to construct the deck and pylons and the piers are made from concrete. The road surface is mastic asphalt and consists of a two-lane dual carriageway and cycle/footpaths on each side. It has a 305 m (1,001 ft) main span and two 110 m (360 ft) approach spans. The width of the road deck is 31.25 m (102.5 ft). Pylon height is 38 m (125 ft) high. The total length of the bridge including approaches is 1,321.87 m (4,336.8 ft). The clearance of the bridge is 45 m (148 ft). The weight of the steel is 11,700 tonnes. 1250 miles of galvanised wire with a breaking load of 500 tonnes were used during construction. The bridge has 15 spans in total and rests on 14 diamond shaped piers which have been designed to allow air to circulate freely around them. The deck and piers have been designed to flex with temperature changes. In the event of the bridge traffic numbers increasing the cycle tracks can be configured to include a third lane. There are 4 water mains pipes and 2 gas pipes running the full length of the underside of the bridge. It is the only bridge in Scotland with single cables over central main supports and was in this respect a precursor of the Millau Viaduct in France. At the time of building it was the longest bridge of its type in the world. The bridge cost including approaches was £10.5million.HRH Princess Anne opened the bridge on 2 July 1971. The ceremonial plaque of the opening can be seen on the railings of the western footpath, at the centre of the main span.