Erskine Bridge

The Erskine Bridge is a cable-stayed box girder bridge that spans the River Clyde in west central Scotland. It links West Dunbartonshire with Renfrewshire and carries motor vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians. The bridge also crosses the Forth and Clyde Canal and the North Clyde railway line. A small part of Kilpatrick railway station sits beneath the bridge on the north side. It replaced the Erskine to Old Kilpatrick ferry service when completed. The bridge was designed by William Brown, a structural engineer who specialised in suspension bridges. Oleg Kerensky served as supervising engineer and R.E. Slater acted as site architect. Construction involved several firms between 1967 and 1971, with steel deck and pylons and concrete piers. The main span measures 305 metres and the total length reaches 1,321.87 metres. Princess Anne opened the bridge on 2 July 1971. Visitors cross a two-lane dual carriageway with cycle and footpaths on each side. The bridge rises high to allow shipping to pass underneath, offering views of Erskine, Mar Hall, Erskine Hospital and the Kilpatrick Hills. The area has produced Roman artefacts including coins and a crannog. The bridge handles tourist traffic from Glasgow International Airport bound for Loch Lomond and the north west Highlands.