The Leamington Lift Bridge is a

lift bridge A vertical-lift bridge or just lift bridge is a type of movable bridge in which a span rises vertically while remaining parallel with the deck. The vertical lift offers several benefits over other movable bridges such as the bascule and swin ...

that crosses the

Union Canal Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

near its terminus at

Lochrin Basin Lochrin is a small area in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It is in the south-west corner of the city centre, to the west of Tollcross, and south of Fountainbridge. Lochrin contains a wide mixture of retail shops, leisure facilities, other ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

History

The bridge was installed around 1906 where

Fountainbridge Fountainbridge ( gd, Drochaid an Fhuarain) is an area of Edinburgh, Scotland, a short distance west of the city centre, adjoining Tollcross with East Fountainbridge and West Port to the east, Polwarth to the west and south, Dalry and Haymark ...

crossed the canal replacing a previous bridge built in 1869. When the canal was shortened in 1922 to make Lochrin Basin the terminus it was moved to its present site to replace a wooden drawbridge. It fell out of use by the 1960s, but as part of the

Millennium Link The Millennium Link is one of the biggest engineering projects ever undertaken by British Waterways. The Union Canal (Scotland), Union Canal and the Forth & Clyde Canal were originally joined by a flight of Lock (water transport), locks. The Mill ...

project to restore the Union Canal, it required to be restored at least to allow boats to pass. A report published in the year 2000 had suggested fixing it permanently open, but the decision was taken to restore it to full working order. The restoration involved removing the deck and the top member of the bridge to access the inner workings. It opened for the first time on 16 May 2002, followed by an official opening ceremony on 24 May. In July 2021, a Red Wheel plaque was unveiled at the bridge. Red Wheel plaques are installed by the

National Transport Trust The National Transport Trust is a British registered charity founded in 1965 as the Transport Trust, the name was changed to reflect the national remit and coverage of its activities. The Trust acts as a hub for the transport preservation movemen ...

to identify sites of significant transport heritage. The one at the bridge is the first to be awarded on a Scottish canal.

Design

Leamington Lift Bridge September 2014 07

The bridge is constructed from a wooden deck that can be raised between two gantries to give a clearance of below. The bridge crosses between Gilmore Park and Leamington Road, but is not open to cars. A permanent lattice girder footbridge allows pedestrians to cross when the deck is raised. It is formed from riveted steel, with more substantial columns on the southern side where the motors and counterbalances are housed. The bridge can be opened by canal users after appropriate training from

Scottish Canals Scottish Canals is the Scottish Government body responsible for managing the country's inland waterways. Formerly a division of British Waterways, it became a stand-alone executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government on 2 Ju ...

. It is only the width of a single canal boat.

References

{{commons category Bridges in Edinburgh Category B listed buildings in Edinburgh Listed bridges in Scotland Bridges completed in 1906 1906 establishments in Scotland Vertical lift bridges in the United Kingdom