Kincardine Bridge.html |
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The Kincardine Bridge is a road bridge crossing the Firth of Forth from Falkirk council area to Kincardine-on-Forth, Fife, Scotland.
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History
The bridge was constructed between 1932 and 1936, designed by Donald Watson. It was the first road crossing of the River Forth downstream of Stirling, completed nearly thirty years before the Forth Road Bridge, which stands fifteen miles to the south-east.
The bridge was constructed with a swinging central section, to allow larger ships to sail upstream to port in Alloa, which remained in use until 1988.
The bridge is part of the A876 road, and is a single lane each way. It is the common diversionary route for traffic north from Edinburgh and eastern Scotland when the Forth Road Bridge is closed or under repair. As a result of the high volume of commuter traffic using the bridge, the town of Kincardine is frequently congested.
Second bridge
The original bridge, now nearing 70 years old, has been identified by the Scottish Executive as in need of replacement. A new Upper Forth Crossing is under construction and is planned for completion in 2008. Despite this, the original bridge has been given Category A listed status by Historic Scotland and it will be closed for around 12-18 months for upgrading (by Jeremy Spinks) when the new crossing is complete. It will therefore not be until 2010 that the full benefit of the new motorway and second bridge will be realised.
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On 1 October 2008 it was announced that the bridge would be called the "Clackmannanshire Bridge".1 Several names had been suggestedwho? for the new bridge, including "The Fourth Bridge"citation needed, a pun that plays on the fact that it will be the fourth bridge across the Forth upstream from the mouth of the river, after the Forth Bridge, the Forth Road Bridge and the existing Kincardine Bridge (the section of the A91 that crosses the Forth near Stirling might be considered the current 'fourth' bridge, but seldom is, as it is not always obvious to those traveling on it that the Forth is being crossed). Of course, should the proposed new bridge be built adjacent to the Forth Road Bridge, the pun would cease to apply as the Upper Forth Crossing would then be the "fifth Forth bridge".