Civil Engineering heritage: Scotland - Lowlands and Borders
Date 2007
Event ID 590388
Category Descriptive Accounts
Type Publication Account
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/590388
This bridge, also originally development-led, linked the Old and New Towns of Edinburgh over the Nor’ Loch valley, partially drained by ca.1763, over ground now occupied by Waverley Station. The foundation stone for the first bridge was laid in October 1763 by Lord Provost George Drummond, but no further work was done until after a design competition in 1765. This was won by David Henderson, but his design was not implemented and the bridge as built was designed by William Mylne. It had three main masonry arch spans of 72 ft about 68 ft high adjoined on each side by a small abutment arch, three tall rubble vaults, and tall abutments reducing in height beyond. The contract was signed in August 1765 for the sum of £10 140. The bridge was opened to pedestrians in early 1769, but soon after, a vault and side wall at the south side collapsed resulting in five deaths. This seems to have arisen mainly from an error in levels which had led to the vault arches being too low and requiring a great depth of infill to reach road level, the pressure from which caused the collapse. Smeaton was called in to remedy matters and on his advice substantial internal cavitation was incorporated into the superstructure to lighten it. The bridge was eventually completed in 1772 at a cost of about £17 354.
R Paxton and S Shipway 2007
Reproduced from 'Civil Engineering heritage: Scotland - Lowlands and Borders' with kind permission of Thomas Telford Publishers.
