The Renfrew Bridge is a road and pedestrian bridge spanning the

River Clyde The River Clyde (, ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde, in the west of Scotland. It is the eighth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the second longest in Scotland after the River Tay. It runs through the city of Glasgow. Th ...

West Dunbartonshire West Dunbartonshire (; , ) is one of the 32 Local government in Scotland, local government council areas of Scotland. The area lies to the north-west of the Glasgow City council area and contains many of Glasgow's commuter towns and villages. ...

and

Renfrewshire Renfrewshire () (; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. Renfrewshire is located in the west central Lowlands. It borders East Renfrewshire, Glasgow, Inverclyde, North Ayrshire and West Dunbartonshire, and lies on the southern ba ...

, built as part of the ongoing

Clyde Waterfront Regeneration The 20 km long Clyde Waterfront Regeneration, launched in 2003, embraced a section of the River Clyde in Scotland that runs from Glasgow Green in the city's center to Dumbarton down river. This scene focused on earlier initiatives under way fro ...

. Opened to the public on 9 May 2025, it is the first new vehicle crossing point on the Clyde since the

Clyde Arc The Clyde Arc (known locally as the Squinty Bridge) is a road bridge spanning the River Clyde in Glasgow, Scotland, connecting Finnieston near the SEC Armadillo and SEC with Pacific Quay and Glasgow Science Centre in Govan. Prominent features ...

bridge was built in 2006.

Proposal

Renfrewshire Council Renfrewshire Council is the local authority for Renfrewshire, one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It consists of 43 councillors who elect from among their number a provost to serve as the council's convener and ceremonial head and a leader o ...

proposed a new road bridge to be built between

Renfrew Renfrew (; ; ) is a town west of Glasgow in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It is the historic county town of Renfrewshire. Called the "Cradle of the Royal Stewarts" for its early link with Scotland's former royal house, Renfrew gaine ...

and

Yoker Yoker () is an area of Glasgow, Scotland, located on the northern bank of the Clyde east of Clydebank, west of the city centre. The name is an Anglicisation of the Scottish Gaelic ''Eochair'' meaning a river bank. From the fourteenth centur ...

Clydebank Clydebank () is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. Situated on the north bank of the River Clyde, it borders the village of Old Kilpatrick (with Bowling, West Dunbartonshire, Bowling and Milton, West Dunbartonshire, Milton beyond) to the w ...

(the north landing point being on the boundary between the City of Glasgow and

local authority areas). The site of the bridge is a short distance downstream (west) from the former

Renfrew Ferry The Renfrew Ferry was a passenger ferry service linking the north and south banks of the River Clyde in Scotland. The service was last operated by Clydelink without subsidy, crossing between Renfrew and Yoker. The service ceased operations on ...

service. As the Clyde is still used for shipbuilding upriver of the proposed crossing at

BAE Systems BAE Systems plc is a British Multinational corporation, multinational Aerospace industry, aerospace, military technology, military and information security company, based in London. It is the largest manufacturer in Britain as of 2017. It is ...

' yards in

Scotstoun Scotstoun () is an area of Glasgow, Scotland, west of Glasgow City Centre. It is bounded by Garscadden and Yoker to the west, Victoria Park, Jordanhill and Whiteinch to the east, Jordanhill to the north and the River Clyde (and Braehead ...

and

Govan Govan ( ; Cumbric: ''Gwovan''; Scots language, Scots: ''Gouan''; Scottish Gaelic: ''Baile a' Ghobhainn'') is a district, parish, and former burgh now part of southwest Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated west of Glasgow city centre, on the sout ...

, a

moveable bridge A moveable bridge, or movable bridge, is a bridge that moves to allow passage for boats or barges. In American English, the term is synonymous with , and the latter is the common term, but drawbridge can be limited to the narrower, historical ...

structure was required to let vessels pass up and down the river. Initial estimates for construction were £50 million, using

City Deal City Deals are an initiative enacted by the UK government in 2012 to promote economic growth and infrastructure while ultimately shifting control of decisions away from the central government to local authorities. City Deals are generally set for t ...

funding. In late 2018 the project was approved by the

Scottish Government The Scottish Government (, ) is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was formed in 1999 as the Scottish Executive following the 1997 referendum on Scottish devolution, and is headquartered at St Andrew's House in ...

, but

West Dunbartonshire Council West is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance langu ...

later objected to the bridge with concerns about traffic levels. However, in February 2019, members of West Dunbartonshire Council's IRED committee unanimously voted to drop the council's objection to the project.

History

Construction

The two main sections of the bridge, were pre-constructed in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, and transported by

barge A barge is typically a flat-bottomed boat, flat-bottomed vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. Original use was on inland waterways, while modern use is on both inland and ocean, marine water environments. The firs ...

to the site in early 2024, to be installed over the course of that year.First section of new Renfrew Bridge arrives on Clyde
''BBC News'', 24 April 2024Final section of Renfrew Bridge floated up the Clyde
''BBC News'', 17 May 2024

Opening

The bridge was opened at midday on 9 May 2025, in a ceremony attended by locals as well as children from primary schools in Renfrew, Clydebank, and Yoker.Renfrew and Yoker connected across the Clyde as new bridge opens to traffic
''STV News'', 9 May 2025

Renfrew ferry

The Renfrew ferry initially continued operating after the bridge opened on 9 May 2025; however, the service ceased operation on 31 May, operators stating that the bridge had reduced passenger numbers to an unsustainable level.

Bus Operations

Local groups were in discussion before and after the bridge's opening in an attempt to secure a bus route crossing the bridge - this would be even more important due to the Renfrew ferry ceasing operations on 31 May 2025, making travelling between the two sides without a vehicle increasingly difficult. Discussions between Renfrew Community Council and McGill's Buses resulted in McGill's looking into the possibility of running a route over the bridge, but as of 13 June 2025 this had yet to be introduced. On the same date,

First Glasgow First Glasgow is the largest bus company serving the Greater Glasgow area in Scotland. It is a subsidiary of FirstGroup. The company operates within the area covered by the Strathclyde Partnership for Transport, a public body responsible for h ...

announced that as of present it could not operate services over the bridge, citing unpredictability as the result of closures.

References

{{coords, 55.8870, -4.381, display=title Swing bridges in Scotland Road bridges in Scotland Transport in Renfrewshire Transport in Glasgow Bridges completed in 2025 Bridges across the River Clyde Renfrew Clydebank Transport in West Dunbartonshire 2025 establishments in Scotland