Kessock Bridge

The Kessock Bridge carries the A9 trunk road across the Beauly Firth at Inverness.

Description

The The Kessock Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge across the Beauly Firth, an inlet of the Moray Firth, between the village of North Kessock and the city of Inverness in the Scottish Highlands. The bridge has a total length of 1,056 metres with a main span of 240m. It is based upon the design of the bridge across the Rhine in Dusseldorf. The Beauly Firth is a navigable waterway and hence the bridge is raised high over sea level. The four bridge towers dominate the Inverness skyline, especially at night when they are lit. The bridge carries the A9 trunk road north from Inverness to the Black Isle. It is the southernmost of the "Three Firths" crossings (Beauly, Cromarty and Dornoch) which has transformed road transport in the Highlands. It has proved a key factor in the growth of the city of Inverness.

History

Prior to 1982, travellers north of Inverness had the choice of the Kessock Ferry or a journey via Beauly. Construction on the bridge began in 1976, with completion and opening in 1982. Since 2007, the 25th anniversary of it opening, the The Kessock Bridge has featured on the obverse of the £100 note issued by the Bank of Scotland. The series of notes commemorates Scottish engineering achievements with illustrations of bridges in Scotland such as the Glenfinnan Viaduct and the Forth Rail Bridge.