Kingston Bridge
The Kingston Bridge is an iconic structure spanning the River Clyde in the centre of Glasgow, carrying traffic in 10 lanes (5 each way) for the M8 motorway with various connections to the city centre, the M77, the M74.
The M8 is the main route running through central Scotland, between Inverclyde in the west, through the centre of Glasgow to Edinburgh in the east. The M8 connects with other major road networks elsewhere, such as the M80, M9 and M73 that are main routes running throughout central Scotland and to the north and south.
These “drive-by” shots were taken on the bridge on an unusually sunny morning when the traffic was unusually quiet.
The Bridge is name after the “Kingston docks” that once operated there and were filled in to support the south pillars of the bridge. It is the largest urban bridge in the UK.
When it was opened by Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother in 1970, the Kingston Bridge was originally intended to carry 20,000 vehicles per day but now carries around 150,000 daily. Due to structural defects attributed to construction flaws and the increased traffic flow the bridge underwent a 10 year program to strengthen it.
The process involved lifting the 52,000 tonne structure with hydraulic jacks and inserting strengthened piers beneath it, making it the biggest bridge lift ever and earning a place in the Guinness Book of Records.
These photos were taken in 2010. The bridge itself doesn’t look any different than it did when I took similar photos in the 1980s. The surrounding cityscape however does look very different with new buildings and bridges further up and down the River Clyde.
This image is looking down river to the “Squinty Bridge”, the new “Media Centre” and the “Science Centre Tower” at “Pacific Quay” in the distance.
Looking up river under the 18m (60ft) clearance span to the “Tradestone Bridge” and Glasgow’s new “financial sector”. The old “Renfrew Ferry” is docked on the left side of the image on the north bank and is now a restaurant and bar.
The “drive-by shots” crossing the bridge were taken in February 2008 with a Fuifilm S2 DSLR while the other photographs were taken in July 2010 using a Fujifilm S5 DSLR. Shot in RAW format and processed in Photoshop CS2 ACR2.4
All the photographs were taken by Scottish photographer Norman Young and are copyright ©. Please respect copyright.
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