The Glasgow Bridge spans 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 popu ...

linking the city centre to Laurieston,

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

Gorbals The Gorbals is an area in the city of Glasgow, Scotland, on the south bank of the River Clyde. By the late 19th century, it had become densely populated; rural migrants and immigrants were attracted by the new industries and employment opportun ...

. Formerly known as Broomielaw Bridge, it is at the bottom of Jamaica Street near

Central Station Central stations or central railway stations emerged in the second half of the nineteenth century as railway stations that had initially been built on the edge of city centres were enveloped by urban expansion and became an integral part of the ...

, and is colloquially known as the Jamaica Bridge. The original bridge was completed in 1772, and was designed by

William Mylne William Mylne (1734–1790) was a Scottish architect and engineer. He is best known as the builder of the North Bridge, which links the Old and New Towns of Edinburgh, Scotland. He was the younger brother of Robert Mylne, architect and de ...

and built by civil engineer

John Smeaton John Smeaton (8 June 1724 – 28 October 1792) was a British civil engineer responsible for the design of bridges, canals, harbours and lighthouses. He was also a capable mechanical engineer and an eminent physicist. Smeaton was the fi ...

. Its seven-arch structure was honoured by

Thomas Telford Thomas Telford FRS, FRSE, (9 August 1757 – 2 September 1834) was a Scottish civil engineer. After establishing himself as an engineer of road and canal projects in Shropshire, he designed numerous infrastructure projects in his native Scot ...

, the first president of the Institution of Civil Engineers, who replaced it in 1833 with a design built by John Gibb & Son for £34,000. One of Telford's colleagues, Charles Atherton, was the resident engineer for the Works. It became the first in Glasgow to be lit by electricity. Between 1895 and 1899 it was replaced with the current wider bridge which incorporated Telford's stonework and expanded the arches to accommodate larger ships. The present structure is protected as a

category B listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Ir ...

Proposed bridge

The Glasgow Bridge was also the name of a proposed bridge. Designed by the Richard Rogers Partnership, it was to be a curved, ramped deck bridge, using a cable stayed compression arch to provide an additional route from

Broomielaw Broomielaw is a major thoroughfare in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It runs adjacent to the River Clyde, on its north bank and forms the southern, waterside boundary of the city's International Financial Services District. History Named after ...

. However, late in 2006 funding was withdrawn for this project. The

Tradeston Bridge The Tradeston Bridge (, colloquially known as the squiggly bridge) is a pedestrian bridge across the River Clyde in Glasgow which opened on 14 May 2009.Source:http://www.glasgow.gov.uk/en/Residents/Environment/Rivers/RiverClyde/Projects/Broom ...

has since been built to serve this function.

References

{{coord, 55.8555, -4.2578, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Bridges in Glasgow Bridges across the River Clyde Category B listed buildings in Glasgow Listed bridges in Scotland Viaducts in Scotland Gorbals