EDINBURGH’S North Bridge will reopen this week, after eight years of work on the structure.
Both pavements have now reopened on the crucial thoroughfare, which has required significant works costing around £85 million – approximately four times the initial amount estimated.
Repairs on the A-listed structure over Waverley Station began in 2018, after inspections uncovered serious defects.
Work was due to be completed by autumn 2020, but this was slowed by the pandemic, and delayed multiple times following the unwelcome discovery that the bridge’s condition was even worse than originally feared.
Over the last eight years, work has been underway to repair or replace all 6300 steel sections.
Now the council has said it has met its final deadline of July 2026, with a full reopening expected by Friday.
The majority of construction equipment has been removed from the bridge, with some final bits of work awaiting completion.
Green MSP for Edinburgh Central, Lorna Slater (below), celebrated the fact that residents and visitors will soon get to “rediscover one of the city’s defining views” in time for the Festivals.
She wrote in the Edinburgh Evening News: “North Bridge has always been more than a way to get from A to B. It is a gateway between the Old Town and New Town, between our history and our future.
“It frames the skyline, carries millions of residents and visitors every year and sits at the heart of Edinburgh’s Unesco World Heritage Site.
“The restoration has taken longer than any of us would have liked, but the transformation is remarkable.
“As the scaffolding disappeared, the bridge’s intricate Victorian ironwork has once again taken pride of place, opening up views across the city that have been hidden for far too long.”
