GRAHAM, the civil engineering firm, has won a £79.5 million contract for a bridge that will provide a direct road link between Clydebank and Renfrewshire in Scotland.
Work is due to start in the next few months to create Scotland’s first opening road bridge, which will provide direct road access between Renfrew and the boundary between Clydebank and West Dunbartonshire.
The project is being jointly funded by the UK and Scottish Governments as part of the £1.13 billion Glasgow City Region’s ‘city deal’ initiative. It formspart of a £90m regenration project for the south bank of the River Clyde, reports the Clydebank Post.
The bridge, once complete, is expected to reduce the travel time between Clydebank and Glasgow Airport by seven minutes, and to provide easier access between Clydebank and the shopping and leisure complex at Braehead, as well as to a new ‘manufacturing innovation district’ in Renfrewshire.
Renfrewshire Council leader Iain Nicolson said: “We are delighted to have approved the awarding of this contract and look forward to working with civil engineering specialists GRAHAM and its project partners on what is a hugely significant project for Renfrewshire, the Glasgow City Region and indeed Scotland. We are excited by its potential in creating a vibrant attractive waterfront and connecting communities to their work, to hospitals and to education.
“Short-term, it will accelerate economic recovery from the devastating impact of the Covid-19 pandemic by creating jobs and boosting opportunities for suppliers and in the long-term, the new infrastructure opens up access to development opportunities on both sides of the Clyde and will ensure the success of AMIDS, cementing Renfrewshire’s position as the home of manufacturing innovation in Scotland.”
Leo Martin, managing director for GRAHAM’s civil engineering division, said: “The new bridge will provide a gateway to the area’s fast-growing manufacturing innovation district and help better connect communities with significant employment and development opportunities for what will be a transformational project for the Renfrewshire and Glasgow City regions.”
