Garrion Bridge

Garrion Bridge
Lanarkshire
Old Garrion Bridge
Location
Grid reference:	NS792510
Location:	55°44’15"N, 3°55’22"W
Data
Post town:	Wishaw
Postcode:	ML2
Dialling code:	01698
Local Government
Council:	North Lanarkshire
Parliamentary constituency:	Motherwell and Wishaw

Garrion Bridge is a small hamlet beside the River Clyde in Lanarkshire. It stands in the Clyde Valley, mainly on the western bank of the River Clyde, 18 miles south-east of Glasgow. The hamlet is most commonly associated with the nearby town of Wishaw.

There are two bridges across the Clyde here, together known as 'Garrion Bridge', the New Bridge upstream of the Old Bridge. The Old Bridge was built in 1817 and the New in 2002, which for the first time allowed traffic to flow in both directions.

The hamlet has grown around a main river crossing of the River Clyde. The area spans both sides of the river. More than a dozen houses stand around the bridges. There is an independent garden and antique centre, operating in the premises of the recently closed Banana ripery operated by Fyffes.

The bridges

The area is still dominated by the twin bridges, which remain the most important crossings over the Clyde for several miles in either direction. The original bridge, constructed in 1817 is still in use, and this was supplemented in 2002 by a new bridge slightly upstream, creating for the first time a bi-directional flow of traffic over the river, the two together forming a huge roundabout. Before this, Garrion Bridge was a notorious traffic bottleneck, with an acute crossroads formed by the junctions of the A71 and A72. As the original (1817) bridge was single lane, the traffic was signal-controlled with only one direction able to cross the bridge at any one time. This led to huge delays, also in part due to the meeting of the A71 from the west and the A72 from the north having a very acute angle with no turning restrictions, which often led to large vehicles becoming stuck. This was rectified by moving the intersection of the northern A72 and western A71 almost half a mile up the valley side to a new roundabout, and removing the original alignment of the A72. This work was carried out at the same time of the construction of the new bridge in 2001.

Outside links

• Garrion Bridges Garden Centre

References

Bridges and crossings on the River Clyde
Camp Viaduct	Skellyton Ford	Pipe bridge	Old Gamon Bridge	New Gamon Bridge	Mauldslie Bridge	Milton-Lockhart Bridge