Forthside Bridge (often referred to as Spiky Bridge) is a large

pedestrian bridge A footbridge (also a pedestrian bridge, pedestrian overpass, or pedestrian overcrossing) is a bridge designed solely for pedestrians.''Oxford English Dictionary'' While the primary meaning for a bridge is a structure which links "two points at a ...

located in the city of

Stirling Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its me ...

, in the

Central Belt The Central Belt of Scotland is the area of highest population density within Scotland. Depending on the definition used, it has a population of between 2.4 and 4.2 million (the country's total was around 5.4 million in 2019), including Great ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. Opened on 2 May 2009, the bridge crosses Stirling railway station, a busy

interchange station An interchange station or a transfer station is a train station for more than one railway route in a public transport system that allows passengers to change from one route to another, often without having to leave a station or pay an additional ...

located on the former

Caledonian Main Line The Caledonian Railway main line in Scotland connected Glasgow and Edinburgh with Carlisle, via Carstairs and Beattock. It was opened in 1847 by the Caledonian Railway. The approach to Glasgow used railways already built, primarily for minera ...

and connects the city centre with the Forthside Development, a £90 million residential and leisure area on the banks of the

River Forth The River Forth is a major river in central Scotland, long, which drains into the North Sea on the east coast of the country. Its drainage basin covers much of Stirlingshire in Scotland's Central Belt. The Gaelic name for the upper reach of th ...

. A form of Inverted Fink truss bridge, similar to the

Royal Victoria Dock Bridge The Royal Victoria Dock Bridge is a signature high-level footbridge crossing the Royal Victoria Dock in the Docklands area of east London designed by London-based architects and designers Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands. The bridge provides a d ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, the construction costs of the Forthside Bridge were estimated at around £6.5 Million. Since its completion, the bridge has become a local landmark and has been praised for its design, receiving a commendation from the

Institution of Structural Engineers The Institution of Structural Engineers is a professional body for structural engineering based in the United Kingdom. The Institution has over 30,000 members operating in over 100 countries. The Institution provides professional accreditation ...

in 2010.

History and Design

The bridge was constructed as part of the 40-acre Forthside Development plan, an urban regeneration project from Stirling Council, located around the former

Forthside Barracks Forthside Barracks is a military installation in Stirling, Scotland. History Forthside Barracks were built as an ordnance depot in 1899. It became the depot of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders before they vacated the place in 1999. In Novem ...

. Construction of the £6.5 million bridge was carried out by Edmund Nuttall Group alongside architects Gifford and

WilkinsonEyre WilkinsonEyre is an international architecture practice based in London, England. In 1983 Chris Wilkinson (architect), Chris Wilkinson founded Chris Wilkinson Architects, he partnered with Jim Eyre (architect), Jim Eyre in 1987 and the practice w ...

(famous for designing the

Gateshead Millennium Bridge The Gateshead Millennium Bridge is a pedestrian and cyclist tilt bridge spanning the River Tyne between Gateshead arts quarter on the south bank and Newcastle upon Tyne's Quayside area on the north bank. It was the first tilting bridge ever t ...

). Funding for the project was given by the Scottish Government, alongside the

European Regional Development Fund The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) is one of the European Structural and Investment Funds allocated by the European Union. Its purpose is to transfer money from richer regions (not countries), and invest it in the infrastructure and se ...

. Due to the bridge's complex design, opening plans faced numerous delays and was originally scheduled to open in November 2008. Forthside2020

The bridge is around 113m long, stands around 6m from the ground and is a unique form of inverted

Fink truss The Fink truss is a commonly used truss in residential homes and bridge architecture. It originated as a bridge truss although its current use in bridges is rare. History The Fink Truss Bridge was patented by Albert Fink in 1854. Albert Fink des ...

with its longest span of 88.2m, over numerous mainline rail tracks of Stirling Station. Glass parapets are fitted along the path over the bridge, which are illuminated at night. For ease of access, the bridge has lifts at either end.

Opening

The bridge opened to the general public on 2 May 2009 and, as a publicity stunt, Stirling Council recruited 6 members of the public named William Wallace (after Sir

William Wallace Sir William Wallace ( gd, Uilleam Uallas, ; Norman French: ; 23 August 1305) was a Scottish knight who became one of the main leaders during the First War of Scottish Independence. Along with Andrew Moray, Wallace defeated an English army a ...

who defeated the English army at the

Battle of Stirling Bridge The Battle of Stirling Bridge ( gd, Blàr Drochaid Shruighlea) was a battle of the First War of Scottish Independence. On 11 September 1297, the forces of Andrew Moray and William Wallace defeated the combined English forces of John de Warenne ...

in 1297) to open the bridge.

Vandalism

Since opening, the bridge has suffered numerous acts of

vandalism Vandalism is the action involving deliberate destruction of or damage to public or private property. The term includes property damage, such as graffiti and defacement directed towards any property without permission of the owner. The term f ...

such as

graffiti Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...

anti-social behaviour Antisocial behavior is a behavior that is defined as the violation of the rights of others by committing crime, such as stealing and physical attack in addition to other behaviors such as lying and manipulation. It is considered to be disrupti ...

and damage to bridge facilities. During the bridge's initial years, the access lifts were closed for almost three years after persistent damage. The Stirling Observer ( Daily Record) received information that "following damage to the lift and glass panels CCTV cameras costing £1031 were installed."

References

{{WilkinsonEyre Pedestrian bridges in Scotland Buildings and structures in Stirling (city) Bridges completed in 2009 Cable-stayed bridges in Scotland 2009 establishments in Scotland