Kessock Bridge

The Kessock Bridge is a cable-stayed structure that carries the A9 trunk road across the Beauly Firth, an inlet of the Moray Firth. It links the village of North Kessock with the city of Inverness in the Scottish Highlands. The bridge has a total length of 1,056 metres and a main span of 240 metres. Designed by German engineer Hellmut Homberg and built by Cleveland Bridge, it resembles a Rhine crossing between Rees and Kalkar. The four towers rise high above sea level to allow navigation beneath. At night the lit towers dominate the Inverness skyline. The bridge transformed road transport in the Highlands and became a key factor in Inverness’s growth. It is the southernmost of the ‘Three Firths’ crossings, alongside the Cromarty and Dornoch bridges. To guard against seismic activity from the Great Glen Fault, engineers installed buffers at the north abutment and Pier 7. Each buffer measures just over three metres and weighs about 2.5 tonnes. On the south side stands the Caledonian Stadium, home of Inverness Caledonian Thistle. Visitors driving north from Inverness cross the high deck and see the Beauly Firth stretching below. The towers frame views of the surrounding hills and the Moray Firth beyond. The bridge carries steady traffic of around thirty thousand vehicles each day. Its northbound carriageway was resurfaced in 2013, followed by the southbound side in 2014. In 2019 the bridge was awarded Category B listed status for its engineering significance.