Bridges of Inverness

Ness Bridge

1961, pre-stressed concrete arches, road bridge.

There has been a bridge on this location since the 11th century. The first bridges were wooden -- none of which lasted long. They were all destroyed by flooding or by combat. In 1685 a stone bridge was built to offer a more permanent crossing. Crowds gathered on shore to watch this bridge collapse during flooding in 1855.

To solve the problem of bridge pylons being swept away by floods, the replacement bridge had no pylons at all. It was an asymmetrical suspension bridge, with one large tower on the east side, and two small anchors on the west side.

The opening on the east tower was seen to be a bottleneck. As traffic levels increased, this was a cause of major frustration. In 1961 the town demolished the suspension bridge and replaced it with a concrete bridge supporting four-lanes.

Unfortunately this didn't solve the traffic problem -- the High street in Inverness was only two lanes anyway, so the new bridge merely moved the bottleneck 100m further east. Inverness lost an amazing bridge due to incompetent planning.
Also of note, the square concrete building in the photo blocking the view of the castle is the tourist office. It was erected at the same time.

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Index: Bridges of Inverness