It might not have the global fame of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, the impressive backdrop of Sydney’s Harbour Bridge or the history of London’s Tower Bridge.
But Glasgow’s bustling Kingston Bridge, which celebrates its 50th birthday today, is every bit as iconic.
It was officially opened on June 26, 1970, by the Queen Mother.
The 52,000-ton structure took three years to build and cost about £11million – the equivalent of more than £180million today.
When construction began in May 1967, it was the most expensive road project yet undertaken in Glasgow.
But Stuart Baird, from the Glasgow Motorway Archive, said its value must be measured in so much more than money.
He said: “The Kingston Bridge transformed Glasgow – and its innovative design dominates the landscape.
“Before the bridge was built, the city had a huge traffic congestion problem. Road safety was also an issue.
“If you wanted to journey from east to west across the city, it could take you an hour to an hour-and-a-half, driving probably at just five or six miles an hour.
"Even if you didn’t live in Glasgow, you had to come into the city to get around it. If you were driving from Greenock to Edinburgh, or Stirling to Ayr, all those main cross-country roads converged in the city centre.
“So the decision was made to construct a motorway – with a crossing over the River Clyde – that would by-pass the city centre.
“The result was a drop in traffic in the city centre by 75 per cent.
“It allowed city leaders to bring forward their other idea to pedestrianise the main shopping streets – Buchanan Street, Sauchiehall Street, Argyle Street – because almost all the traffic was gone.
“The Kingston Bridge has brought so much to the city and deserves so much more love.”
Planning chiefs in Glasgow first started devising a masterplan for the city’s transport network in the wake of World War II.
At the time, there was little money for the ideas suggested, which included the Clyde Tunnel and a Glasgow inner ring road, but by the 60s city chiefs made use of funding that had become available to attempt to future-proof the city.
Initial suggestions centred on a low-level bridge for local traffic to cross between Tradeston and Broomielaw, with a higher-level bridge that would take vehicles heading from one side of the country to another.
Instead, just one high bridge sits 60ft above the River Clyde, with five lanes of traffic in each direction.
Stuart, who is also a Transport Scotland bridge manager, said: “The people who commissioned and designed it knew it was going to be a busy bridge. They looked at what was happening around them and they predicted that, by 1990, it would be used by 120,000 vehicles a day – and they were spot on.
“Glasgow Corporation, as the council was then known, and the Clyde Port Authority demanded the design of the bridge ensured the river was kept free of obstruction – so no supports holding the bridge in the river – meaning ships could travel into the city centre.
“This led to the bridge having such an innovative design, with its slender hollow arches that span across the water.”
Having to keep both the river and the roads below the bridge open during its construction caused issues for the engineers and builders.
Stuart said: “To build the bridge, they had to cantilever it out from both banks of the river.
“The method they used meant they didn’t have to put any restrictions below, which was fairly innovative at the time.
“It’s all hollow boxes that were pushed out until they finally met in the middle. Two hollow arches tied together.”
Today, the Kingston Bridge is one of the busiest motorway stretches in Europe.
At its peak, up to 180,000 vehicles were crossing the bridge, although numbers have dropped since the opening of the M74 extension.
Stuart said: “The Kingston Bridge isn’t hailed in the same way as some of its counterparts but I do think it’s beautiful.
“When most people cross the bridge, they’re probably more interested in the nice views up and down the river on either side – it’s
probably those passing underneath the bridge who see it best.
“But I’d encourage anyone using the bridge to think of the hard work and effort put into building it and the innovation behind its design.
“Think of how it transformed the city and what it has done for Glasgow.”
