Bridge of Don (bridge)
{{confused|Don Bridge (disambiguation)|Don River Bridge (disambiguation)|Brig o' Balgownie}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2017}}
{{Infobox bridge
| bridge_name = Bridge of Don
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| image = The Bridge of Don - geograph.org.uk - 234494.jpg
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| caption = The bridge in 2004 (fifth arch not visible)
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| carries = A956 road
| crosses = River Don
| locale = Aberdeen, Scotland
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| material = Granite
| length =
| width = {{convert|66|ft}}
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| mainspan = {{convert|75|ft}}
| spans = Five
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| begin = 1827
| complete = 1830
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| preceded = Brig o' Balgownie
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| coordinates = {{Coord|57.17548|-2.09060|display=inline, title}}
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{{Infobox designation list
| embed = yes
| designation1 = Scotland Category B
| designation1_date = 12 January 1967
| designation1_number = {{Historic Environment Scotland|num=LB20069|short=yes}} }}
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Bridge of Don is a five-arch bridge of granite, built between 1827 and 1830, crossing the River Don just above its mouth in Aberdeen, Scotland.
History
In 1605 Alexander Hay executed a Charter of Mortification for the maintenance of the 13th century Brig o' Balgownie further upstream, which later became the Bridge of Don Fund, which financed several bridges in the north-east of Scotland.{{cite web |url=http://www.engineering-timelines.com/scripts/engineeringItem.asp?id=1206 |title=Brig o'Balgownie |publisher=engineering-timelines.com |accessdate=16 September 2014 |url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140913011902/http://www.engineering-timelines.com/scripts/engineeringItem.asp?id=1206 |archivedate=13 September 2014 |df=dmy-all }}{{Canmore |num=20161 |desc=Aberdeen, Brig o' Balgownie |access-date=16 September 2014}} This fund having accumulated a value of over {{GBP|20,000}}, the patrons of the fund, the town council, sought an Act of Parliament to permit construction of a new bridge in 1825.{{cite book |title=House of Commons Papers |url=https://archive.org/details/parliamentarypa67unkngoog |year=1835 |publisher=H.M. Stationery Office |page=[https://archive.org/details/parliamentarypa67unkngoog/page/n45 35]}}
The original design by John Gibb and John Smith was modified by Thomas Telford, and construction work started in 1827. Problems with the foundations meant it had to be partly taken down and have additional piles sunk. It was opened free to the public with no toll in 1830 and later gave its name to the suburb of the city on the north bank.{{Canmore |num=20143 |desc=Aberdeen, Bridge of Don |access-date=16 September 2014}}{{cite web |url=http://www.scottish-places.info/features/featurefirst1486.html |title=Bridge of Don |publisher=scottish-places.info |accessdate=16 September 2014}}
It was listed as a Category B listed building in 1967.{{Historic Environment Scotland|num=LB20069|desc=Bridge of Don, King Street|cat=B|access-date=28 March 2019|fewer-links=yes}}
Design
File:The Bridge of Don - geograph.org.uk - 627664.jpg
The bridge has five spans of dressed granite, and rounded cutwaters that carry up to road level to form pedestrian refuges. The spans are {{convert|75|ft}}, with a rise of {{convert|25|ft}}.
It was widened in 1958-59, from {{convert|24|ft}}, to {{convert|66|ft}} by the construction of a new concrete bridge adjacent to the old one.{{cite web |url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1961/jun/13/major-road-projects |title=Major Road Projects |work=Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) |date=13 June 1961 |access-date=17 September 2014}}
It now carries four lanes of the A956 road, and is the last bridge on the River Don before it meets the North Sea.{{Google maps |url=https://www.google.co.uk/maps/search/google+maps/@57.1760257,-2.0874753,16z |title=Bridge of Don |accessdate=16 September 2014}} The bridge is just downstream from a substantial island in the river. Around the area of the bridge is the Donmouth Local Nature Reserve, designated as a LNR in 1992.{{cite web |url=http://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/community_life_leisure/parks_open_spaces/ranger_service/pos_donmouth.asp |title=Donmouth Local Nature Reserve |publisher=aberdeencity.gov.uk |accessdate=16 September 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140917091224/http://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/community_life_leisure/parks_open_spaces/ranger_service/pos_donmouth.asp |archive-date=17 September 2014 |url-status=dead }} Near to the bridge are a number of World War II era coastal defences, including a pill box.{{cite web |url=http://www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk/record/rcahms/80763/aberdeen-bridge-don-pill-box/rcahms?inline=true |title=Aberdeen, Bridge Of Don, Pill Box |publisher=scotlandsplaces.gov.uk |accessdate=17 September 2014}}
References
{{Commons category|Bridge of Don (bridge)}}
{{Reflist}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Don, Bridge of}}
Category:Road bridges in Scotland
Category:Category B listed buildings in Aberdeen
Category:Listed bridges in Scotland