Clackmannanshire Bridge
| Clackmannanshire Bridge | |
| Fife, Perthshire, Stirlingshire | |
|---|---|
 Clackmannanshire Bridge, | |
| Location | |
| Carrying: | Motor vehicles A876 road Cyclists (National Cycle Route 1) Pedestrians |
| Crossing: | Firth of Forth |
| Location | |
| Location: | 56°4’22"N, 3°44’12"W |
| Structure | |
| Length: | ¾ mile |
| Design: | concrete piers and girders |
| History | |
| Information | |
The Clackmannanshire Bridge is a road bridge over the Firth of Forth between Stirlingshire and Clackmannanshire which opened to traffic on Wednesday 19 November 2008.
Background
The increasing levels of traffic using the existing Kincardine Bridge led to a public inquiry being held into options to ease traffic flow over the Forth and around the small town of Kincardine-on-Forth. The Kincardine Bridge was the main access across the river for heavy goods vehicles during stormy weather when the Forth Road Bridge would not allow high sided vehicles to cross during strong winds. In 2000 proposals were put forward for a number of alternatives, one of which was a new crossing running north-northwest of the existing bridge, bypassing the town of Kincardine altogether.
In 2005 the new crossing was given the go-ahead, and construction began in June 2006, with the sod-cutting ceremony performed by the Scottish Transport Minister, Tavish Scott, accompanied by Andrew Bruce, 11th Earl of Elgin who as a boy had performed the ceremony for the Kincardine Bridge.
Description
The final cost of the project was £120 million and it was designed to accommodate about 20,000 vehicle movements per day.[1] The bridge deck is ¾ mile long, weighs 35,000 tons and sits on 25 piers which are each filled with 840 tons of concrete.
Naming
The bridge is positioned in an area where three counties converge. The north approach road to the bridge leaves from Clackmannanshire, the bridge itself standing in Perthshire detached in Fife, and the south approach to the bridge is within Stirlingshire. This means that no part of the bridge is actually within Clackmannanshire. Clackmannanshire Council voted to suggest "Clackmannanshire Bridge"; Fife Council responded with "Kingdom Bridge" (referring to the historic kingdom of Fife). Other suggestions included "Wallace Bridge" after Sir William Wallace.[2] Following a public consultation, the Scottish Government announced on 1 October 2008 that the name Clackmannanshire Bridge was to be adopted.[3]
References
- ↑ News | Herald Scotland
- ↑ "Council solution over bridge name". BBC News. 14 March 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/tayside_and_central/6449973.stm. Retrieved 30 April 2010.
- ↑ "Name chosen for new Forth bridge". BBC News. 1 October 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/tayside_and_central/7646508.stm.