IT was a historic day as school children made the initial crossing over the first-ever opening road bridge on the River Clyde.
Excited crowds gathered in the sunshine on Thursday at the new Renfrew Bridge ahead of its official opening at midday on Friday.
Our sister paper The Glasgow Times was invited along for a first look at the new crossing, which will accommodate vehicles, cyclists, and pedestrians – as well as opening for passing ships.
The occasion was marked by youngsters from both sides of the river walking to meet in the middle of the bridge in a display of connectivity.
The completion of the 184-metre bridge, connecting Yoker and Clydebank directly to Renfrew, marked the end of the £117m Clyde Waterfront and Renfrew Riverside project.
This was led by Renfrewshire Council and funded as part of the £1.13 billion Glasgow City Region Deal.
Iain Nicolson, leader of the local authority, told the Glasgow Times this is a ‘huge achievement’ for the council.
He said: “I think the weather enhances the sense of relief that the project is finally coming to completion.
“We had increased enquiries about it from local communities, and I am so pleased to see so many people here.
“It’s right that they come and celebrate the bridge. It’s a huge achievement for the council to deliver this kind of infrastructure.
“I didn’t actually know it was the first of its kind in the UK until a while back. It’s fantastic and I think it’s a mark that Renfrewshire is open for business.
“We can do big projects and we can deliver them on time.”
The Renfrew Bridge has been installed on Meadowside Street on the Renfrew side and on Dock Street in Clydebank.
This work was carried out by civil engineers GRAHAM.
Eilidh Love was one of the engineers tasked with the project. The 25-year-old from Largs explained that this was her first assignment after graduating from the University of Glasgow.
She said: “I graduated in 2022 and started here the same year. At that time, this whole area was just a scrapyard.
“I’ve seen this project from the beginning to the end. It’s really nice to see it all come together now. I think it’s going to be hard to top this, to be honest.
“It’s been really something special. Especially since people I know are going to be using the bridge.”
The bridge will provide a direct link between the two towns for the first time.
The two-lane crossing was designed based on the area’s rich shipbuilding heritage and uses a cable stay system similar to the Queensferry Crossing.
It also has a twin-leaf design, which means that it will open and close horizontally.
Additionally, it is hoped that the bridge with open up work, health, education, and leisure opportunities on both sides of the river.
It is said to have the potential for thousands of additional jobs, fresh investment, and new developments.
Alongside the construction of the bridge, the project saw the creation of connecting roads and cycling and walking routes linking Inchinnan Road in Renfrew to Yoker railway station.
There will also be improved access for businesses and suppliers to Scotland’s home of manufacturing and innovation, AMIDS, which is being developed by Renfrewshire Council in collaboration with the Scottish Government and Scottish Enterprise.
Susan Aitken, leader of Glasgow City Council and chair of the Glasgow City Region Cabinet, commented: “Connectivity is massively important. This is the third bridge that we’ve built under the Glasgow City Region Deal.
“Each one of those is recreating connectivity that has been lost over the years or, in some cases, never existed in the first place.
“When you invest in infrastructure like this that connects people to places, it has the potential to be genuinely transformational.
“It’s a bridge from Renfrew to Yoker, but more importantly, it’s a bridge to opportunities to jobs, to learning, to all the things that the city region has to offer.
“It makes it more accessible to more people.”
The Clyde Waterfront and Renfrew Riverside project was jointly funded by the UK and Scottish Governments through the Glasgow City Region Deal.
This is a partnership of eight councils working to deliver a programme of work to grow a strong, inclusive, and sustainable city region.
It was delivered by GRAHAM and supported more than 950 jobs during its construction.
The project also generated hundreds of subcontract and supplier opportunities, many of which were taken on by local businesses.
