The Tradeston Bridge (, colloquially known as the squiggly bridge) is a pedestrian

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

across the

River Clyde The River Clyde ( gd, Abhainn Chluaidh, , sco, Clyde Watter, or ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde in Scotland. It is the ninth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third-longest in Scotland. It runs through the major cit ...

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

which opened on 14 May 2009.Source:http://www.glasgow.gov.uk/en/Residents/Environment/Rivers/RiverClyde/Projects/Broomielaw/BroomielawTradestonBridge/ It links the districts of

Anderston Anderston ( sco, Anderstoun, gd, Baile Aindrea) is an area of Glasgow, Scotland. It is on the north bank of the River Clyde and forms the south western edge of the city centre. Established as a village of handloom weavers in the early 18th ce ...

(on the north bank) to

Tradeston Tradeston () is a small district in the Scottish city of Glasgow adjacent to the city centre on the south bank of the River Clyde. Geography Tradeston is bounded by the River Clyde to the north, the Glasgow to Paisley railway line to the so ...

and the neighbouring district of Kingston (on the south bank) – the aim of the bridge being to aid the regeneration of Tradeston by giving it a direct link to the city's

financial district A financial district is usually a central area in a city where financial services firms such as banks, insurance companies and other related finance corporations have their head offices. In major cities, financial districts are often home to s ...

on the western side of the city centre. The design was prepared by

Dissing+Weitling Dissing may refer to: *Diss (music), song primarily intended to disrespect people *Dissing+Weitling, architecture and design practice in Copenhagen, Denmark *Heino Dissing (1912–1990), Danish cyclist *Henry Dissing Henry Dissing (1931 – 10 De ...

, a Danish architectural firm, with the UK engineers

Halcrow Group Halcrow Group Limited was a multinational engineering consultancy company, based in the United Kingdom Halcrow was one of the UK's largest consultancies, with origins stretching back to 1868. The UK-based consultancy specialised in the provision ...

. The bridge concrete works were built by

BAM Nuttall BAM Nuttall Limited (formerly known as Edmund Nuttall Limited) is a construction and civil engineering company headquartered in Camberley, United Kingdom. It has been involved in a portfolio of road, rail, nuclear, and other major projects worldw ...

whilst the steel bridge structure was fabricated and erected by RBG Ltd. The structure is a balanced

cantilever A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is supported at only one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a canti ...

design. The steel fins, which provide structural support, are placed above the bridge to add visual interest but also to reduce the overall bulk of the deck.Glasgow's Clyde Bridges Heritage Trail (Institute of Civil Engineers, 2007) https://www.glasgow.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=39733&p=0 It cost £7 million to construct and is used by

pedestrians A pedestrian is a person traveling on foot, whether walking or running. In modern times, the term usually refers to someone walking on a road or Road surface, pavement, but this was not the case historically. The meaning of pedestrian is dis ...

and cyclists with no motorised traffic being allowed upon it. The span is horizontally curved in an S shape with outward canting on both curves. The S shape gives the bridge the extra length it needs to allow enough clearance for boats without making the bridge too steep.

References

External links

Tradeston Bridge - Architect's page
Bridges in Glasgow Bridges across the River Clyde Bridges completed in 2009 Pedestrian bridges in Scotland Gorbals 2009 establishments in Scotland {{Glasgow-stub