The Kincardine Bridge is to undergo a major concrete repair and restoration project after the awarding of a contract to Balfour Beatty for the task by Transport Scotland.
Work on the £17 million project is expected to start in early summer, with the work involving an 80 ft section being replaced. The southern piled viaduct, which is made from a combination of concrete and steel props and was completed in 1992, will be demolished and replaced by a new structure made entirely from reinforced concrete. The work is expected to take about two years in total.
A temporary two-lane bridge will be installed alongside the 1992 viaduct to provide traffic and pedestrian access to enable road users to continue to cross the River Forth. Although the river can also be crossed nearby via the Clackmannanshire Bridge, this would take traffic bound for Kincardine and all points east miles off route if the Kincardine Bridge were to be closed.
Director of operations at Balfour Beatty Graeme Dickie, said: “The replacement of the Kincardine Bridge southern piled viaduct is an important project, one which will ensure the long-term future use of the bridge.”
He added that the environmental impact of the project will be limited “by reusing materials from the existing structure wherever possible, whilst also minimising disruption to the travelling public and local communities.”
Among the ways this task will be achieved will be to retain the lamp posts and parapets from the 1992 structure and reinstate these on the new one, which will also help ensure the appearance of the bridge is largely unchanged.
While keeping the Kincardine Bridge open is good news for motorists and pedestrians, some bridge repair projects can prove a lot more expensive because such access is retained.
Edinburgh City Council’s own investigation has established that the cost of keeping the North Bridge open to traffic while it was being repaired could have been £5 million lower than if it was closed.
Work is continuing on the scheme, which is due to be completed in 2025 after seven years of work, with the estimated cost now soaring to £86 million, nearly quadruple the original projected cost.