Kingshouse, Etive Bridge
Road Bridge (Period Unassigned)
Site Name Kingshouse, Etive Bridge
Classification Road Bridge (Period Unassigned)
Alternative Name(s) River Etive; Rannoch Moor
Canmore ID 133377
Site Number NN25SE 9
NGR NN 25234 54728
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/133377
- Council Highland
- Parish Glenorchy And Inishail (Lochaber)
- Former Region Highland
- Former District Lochaber
- Former County Argyll
NN25SE 9 25234 54728
For (similar) Tulla Bridge at NN 3134 4440, see NN34SW 9.
(Location cited as NN 265 539). The Etive Bridge was built by Owen Williams in the 1920's, and has recently been smartened with a coat of paint which lifts its arch away from the hillside. It is in effect a bowstring arch built not of metal but of reinforced concrete, which must have been poured into the moulds on site. It is unusual to see a concrete bridge this shape.
Embanked approaches bring the road onto the bridge. The abutments are substantial and are topped with pairs of rectangular blocks measuring 39 x 58 ins (0.99 x 1.47m) and 54 x 78 ins (1.37 x 1.98m). The arch itself is 3 ft (0.91m) thick and rises with eight vertical beams. The sides are runs of neat slim concrete posts between the large beams. This is a solid dignified bridge that suits the massive hills and bare valleys of Rannoch.
G Nelson 1990.
This bridge carries the A82 (T) public road over the River Etive, near Kingshouse on the W side of Rannoch Moor.
Information from RCAHMS (RJCM), 28 August 1998.
Construction (1931 - 1932)
This striking if rather heavy-looking reinforced concrete bridge carrying the A82 over the Etive was built in 1931– 32 by W. Tawse Ltd to the design of Messrs. J. McGregor, L. R. Sutherland and W. H. Hunt
R Paxton and Jim Shipway 2007b
Reproduced from 'Civil Engineering heritage: Scotland - Highlands and Islands' with kind permission from Thomas Telford Publishers.
Publication Account (2007)
This striking if rather heavy-looking reinforced concrete bridge carrying the A82 over the Etive was built in 1931– 32 by W. Tawse Ltd to the design of Messrs. J. McGregor, L. R. Sutherland and W. H. Hunt at a total cost of £3352 . The bridge has a single span of 99 ft and an 18 ft wide carriageway suspended from the arch by reinforced concrete hangers. The hinges and rockers are of the same material.
The construction of each tied arch required substantial formwork, steel fixing and the pouring of concrete high
in the air. The arch had to be propped for some time to allow the concrete to set. This propping had to be
supported by the bridge deck which, in turn, had to be supported from the river bed. Similar bridges were built
at the Water of Tulla, Glenorchy (NN 3130 4440), on the same road about 6 miles south, and Strathy, Sutherland
(NC 8362 6519, 5-47), now replaced.
R Paxton and Jim Shipway 2007b
Reproduced from 'Civil Engineering heritage: Scotland - Highlands and Islands' with kind permission from Thomas Telford Publishers.
