BBC News Online: UK: Scotland

Bridge reopens ahead of schedule

The work on the Kingston Bridge in Glasgow was successfully completed at 1400 BST on Sunday.

Engineers had to lift the 30-year-old structure on the River Clyde as part of an ongoing programme to correct faults and prolong its life.

A spokesman for Glasgow City Council said everything had gone according to plan and the bridge, which carries an average 150,000 vehicles a day and is one of Europe's busiest, was back open.

Work began at 1900 BST on Saturday and motorists had been warned that the bridge would be closed until Monday morning.

However, the police officer in charge of the traffic operation said the work was carried out successfully and with little adverse effect.

Superintendent Alistair Anderson, of Strathclyde Police, said: "Months of careful planning have ensured that the essential maintenance has been carried out safely and with minor disruption."

He thanked motorists for paying attention to diversion notices and reminded them that the bridge would be closed next weekend for the second phase of the work.

The £31.5m operation began after the discovery of major defects in the bridge in 1990.

North pier wall

The north pier wall near the bridge's support piers was found to be bulging.

Giant jacks were put in place to lift the bridge deck by just over 1cm.

On Saturday evening, engineers began the lifting sequence, moving the bridge in a series of 2mm or 3mm stages each lasting 20 minutes, with an hour's break for checks at each stage.

Engineers now plan to move the bridge 5cm southwards next weekend and lower it once rebuilt supports are in place.

A lengthy programme of work has been planned on the bridge this week, before the deck is lowered down on to the new supports.

Relevant Stories

Massive bridge operation under way (23 Oct 99 | Scotland)
Bridging the Kingston gap (11 Oct 99 | Scotland)

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Glasgow City Council
Strathclyde Police

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