Connel Bridge

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Connel Bridge is a cantilever bridge that spans Loch Etive at Connel in Scotland. The bridge currently takes the A828 trunk road across the loch.

The bridge has a span of 500 feet, at an elevation of 50 feet above the water level. The approach viaducts on each side of the bridge both comprise three masonry arches.

Completed on 9 May 1903, the bridge was built by Arrol's Bridge and Roof Company. It was originally built to carry the Ballachulish branch of the Callander and Oban Railway, which opened on 20 August 1903.

Originally, the bridge carried just the railway, but road vehicles were taken across by rail between Connel and Benderloch. In 1914, a roadway was added to the bridge, alongside the railway line. A toll was payable by road users.

After the branch line closed in 1966, the bridge was converted for sole use by road vehicles and pedestrians, and the toll was removed. Despite the railway track having been removed, the roadway is still not wide enough for vehicles to pass, therefore traffic lights had to be installed at each end of the bridge.

[edit] Trivia

Connel Bridge appears in the 1981 film 'Eye of the Needle'. - More information on the Scotland the Movie website.