Eric Wright Civil Engineering have completed the replacement Clyde Bridge, on Pettinain Road just outside the village of Carstairs Junction and it was opened by Council Leader Joe Fagan and the Chair of the Community and Enterprise Resources Committee, Councillor Robert Brown.
Our team joined local councillors, community council representatives and staff from South Lanarkshire Council and Mabey Bridge for the opening of the bridge.
The new bridge has a single span of 90 metres in length with installation being achieved via a staged assembly and launch procedure which took six weeks to complete, and it replaces the old bridge which was closed in August 2018 for safety reasons.
Gavin Hulme, operations director at Eric Wright Civil Engineering said “We’re proud to have worked in collaboration with South Lanarkshire Council to deliver this technically demanding replacement bridge over the River Clyde just twelve months after starting on site. It’s been a privilege to work on this project and deliver this much needed infrastructure that will connect the community.”
Councillor Brown said: “The old bridge dated from 1912 and was under weight restrictions from 1956 before being closed to pedestrians and traffic in 2018. The new bridge is superb – it will be a local landmark. The new Clyde Bridge will connect local communities, help the movement of goods and commerce in the area and cut travel times. It has been long awaited but will make a huge difference to local people and local businesses in Carstairs Junction and beyond. Unlike the old bridge it has provision for pedestrians and cyclists crossing the bridge.”
A single span Delta bridge designed and installed by Mabey Bridge was selected as the new structure to be installed. The project required utility apparatus owned by BT Openreach and Scottish Water to be temporarily diverted and ultimately installed in the new bridge.
The total weight of steelwork in the new structure is 353 tonnes. Around 520 cubic metres of concrete were imported to the site to construct the cast insitu pile caps and abutments which form the bridge substructure. Approximately 6,400 cubic metres of fill material was imported to form new and realigned road embankments.
