Bridge of Don is a five-

arch bridge An arch bridge is a bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved arch. Arch bridges work by transferring the weight of the bridge and its structural load, loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either si ...

granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...

, built between 1827 and 1830, crossing the River Don just above its mouth in

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

History

In 1605 Alexander Hay executed a Charter of Mortification for the maintenance of the 13th century

Brig o' Balgownie The Brig o' Balgownie is a 13th-century bridge spanning the River Don in Old Aberdeen, Scotland. Construction of the bridge was begun in the late 13th century by Richard Cementarius, but not completed until 1320 at the time of the Scottish W ...

further upstream, which later became the Bridge of Don Fund, which financed several bridges in the north-east of Scotland. This fund having accumulated a value of over , the patrons of the fund, the town council, sought an Act of Parliament to permit construction of a new bridge in 1825. The original design by John Gibb and John Smith was modified by

Thomas Telford Thomas Telford (9 August 1757 – 2 September 1834) was a Scottish civil engineer. After establishing himself as an engineer of road and canal projects in Shropshire, he designed numerous infrastructure projects in his native Scotland, as well ...

, and construction work started in 1827. Problems with the foundations meant it had to be partly taken down and have additional

piles Hemorrhoids (or haemorrhoids), also known as piles, are vascular structures in the anal canal. In their normal state, they are cushions that help with stool control. They become a disease when swollen or inflamed; the unqualified term ''he ...

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. It was listed as a Category B

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

in 1967.

Design

The bridge has five spans of dressed

, and rounded

cutwater A cutwater is the forward part of the prow or stem of a watercraft around the waterline The waterline is the line where the hull of a ship meets the surface of the water. A waterline can also refer to any line on a ship's hull that is paralle ...

s that carry up to road level to form pedestrian refuges. The spans are , with a rise of . It was widened in 1958-59, from , to by the construction of a new concrete bridge adjacent to the old one. It now carries four lanes of the A956 road, and is the last bridge on the River Don before it meets the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

. The bridge is just downstream from a substantial

island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

in the river. Around the area of the bridge is the Donmouth Local Nature Reserve, designated as a LNR in 1992. Near to the bridge are a number of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

era coastal defences, including a pill box.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Don, Bridge of Road bridges in Scotland Category B listed buildings in Aberdeen Listed bridges in Scotland Viaducts in Scotland Bridges in Aberdeen Bridges completed in 1830 1830 establishments in Scotland