GLASGOW’S Kingston Bridge celebrates its 50th anniversary this month. Although an exhibition to mark the event has been postponed by the coronavirus pandemic, the bridge is expected to be honoured in another way, with a grade B listing by Historic Environment Scotland.
The bridge, one of the first stages of the M8, is the centrepiece of Britain’s biggest urban motorway network.
It was opened on June 26, 1970, by the Queen Mother. It took three years to build at a cost of £11 million – the equivalent of £180m today – and carries 155,000 vehicles a day. It is estimated to have clocked up more than 2 billion to date.
Its span was built nearly 20m (65ft) above the river to enable ships to pass underneath.
Transport secretary Michael Matheson said last week: “The bridge has become an iconic landmark in Glasgow over the half century it’s been in operation. The crossing played its part in taking a significant amount of traffic off the city centre streets and paved the way for the pedestrianisation of Sauchiehall Street, Buchanan Street and Argyle Street.
‘‘Kingston Bridge listed seems a fitting way to mark its impact over the past 50 years.”
It was built by consulting engineers WA Fairhurst and Partners, one of the top civil engineering firms of the era.
The Glasgow Motorway Archive, whose exhibition about the bridge has been postponed by the Covid crisis, appealed to those who worked on the project to get in touch.
Chair Stuart Baird said: “The bridge was recognised as one of the most ambitious infrastructure projects undertaken in Scotland at the time, and it’s had a huge impact in shaping the city. Listing the bridge doesn’t simply acknowledge its unique engineering and architectural features, it also recognises the work of the people that designed, built and maintained it over the years.’’
Elizabeth McCrone, head of designations at Historic Environment Scotland, said: “We are delighted to consider the bridge for listing on its milestone 50th anniversary.
“Scotland has a strong heritage of engineering achievements and the Kingston Bridge was designed by WA Fairhurst and Partners, one of the leading civil engineering firms of the period.
To mark the event, this week’s Back In The Day publishes a selection of photographs of the bridge provided last week by the Glasgow Motorway Archive.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel