Archaeology Notes
Event ID 737156
Category Descriptive Accounts
Type Archaeology Notes
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/737156
The Tay Road Bridge measures 7365 ft (2245m) in length and is the longest river-crossing road bridge in Britain; the shortest road route from the Fife abutment to Dundee was previously by Perth, a distance of about 50 miles (80 km). Each of the two-lane carriageways is 22 ft (6.7m) wide and the central (raised) footpath is 10 ft (3m) wide. The deck rises from 32 ft (9.8m) above sea level at the N end to 125 ft (38m) at the S, at a constant gradient of 1 in 81.
There are 3.6 miles (5.8 km) of approach roads on the Fife side, while at Dundee there are toll installations and network roads of an inverted trumpet design.
The bridge comprises 42 spans. Concrete foundations support twin columns of developing parabolic shape. These columns support steel plate box girders 12 ft (3.7m) wide by 10 ft (3m) deep with a composite top flange of concrete forming the roadway. The girders range from 10 ft (3m) to 20 ft (6.1m) deep over the navigation channel.Quantities of materials used were: concrete, 140,000 tons; mild steel bar reinforecement 4,600 tons, structural steel (mostly in the box girders) 8,150 tons.
The cost (excluding the cost of land and interest charges) was ?4.8M and construction began in March 1963; the opening by HRH The Queen Mother was on 18 August 1966. The designers and main contractors were W A Fairhurst and partners, Glasgow, and Duncan Logan (Contractors) Ltd., Muir of Ord, respectively; the administrative authority was the Tay Road Bridge Joint Board which first met on 3 September 1962.
A Borthwick 1966.
This bridge carries the A 92 (formerly A 914) public road across the River Tay between the parishes of Forgan (Fife) and Dundee (Angus), to the S and N respectively.
Information from RCAHMS (RJCM), 19 June 1996.
Site recorded by Maritime Fife during the Coastal Assessment Survey for Historic Scotland, Fife Ness to Newburgh 1996
The location assigned to this record defines the midpoint of the structure. The available map evidence indicates that it extends from NO c. 40746 30083 to NO c. 42560 28697.
Notable features of this bridge include a raised pedestrian walkway along its length, and a monumental pillar (NO42NW 75.01) at the S end. The bridgemaster's office (NO43SW 1004) and toll booths (NO 40725 30102) are at the N end. There are extensive approach-works at both end.
Information from RCAHMS (RJCM), 21 April 2006.
See also:
NO42NW 75.01 NO 42600 28667 Monument ('Stone' in Forgan roundabout)
NO43SW 1004 NO 40771 30109 Bridgemaster's Office
Extends onto map sheet NO43SW.
Location formerly cited as NO 425 287 to NO 407 300.
For corresponding railway bridge (NO 390 292 to 395 263), see NO32NE 11.
