This structure, linking the small island of Bernera with its larger neighbour Lewis is believed to be the first pre-stressed concrete bridge built in Britain.
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Bernera Bridge
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Visit websiteConstructor: The engineers were Blyth & Blyth, Edinburgh, in collaboration with the County Engineer J. A. Shaw. The main contractor was A. A. Stuart & Sons (Glasgow) Ltd and the subcontractor for the pre-stressing was Stressed Concrete Design Ltd. The cost was £70,111.
Construction date: Thousands of people gathered on Wednesday July 22, 1953 for the opening of the £70,000 structure - estimates of the crowd varied from 2,000 to 4,000.
Three spans of 108 ft, each of which is formed of three parallel beams of pre-cast concrete segments stressed together and capped by an in situ concrete deck slab. The width is 13 ft between parapets. Because of the limited carrying capacity of the roads and other bridges in the area, it was agreed that the bridge should be designed for two-thirds of the full Ministry of Transport loading.
Each span consists of three pre-cast ‘U’ girders posttensioned on shore each with two straight and two curved cables of 32 wires by the Magnel–Blaton system. The beams were cast on shore in eight ‘U’ segments 11 ft 8 in. long, 4 ft 8 in. deep and 3 ft wide and two solid end blocks 5 ft 6 in. long. The completed beams each weighed 52 tons and their erection over water was facilitated by a temporary steel-lattice girder. The abutments and piers are of conventional design and consist of cylindrical shafts 7 ft 3 in. diameter placed 14 ft apart. The piers are founded on a concrete base slab founded on stiff boulder clay, and are capped by reinforced-concrete beams on which the pre-stressed beams are carried.
While underwater work was in progress, divers reported traces of what appeared to have been a stone-built causeway about 6 ft west of the centreline of the bridge and parallel to it. It was about 7 ft wide and built of hand placed boulders ‘some of which were of considerable size’. There is no record of a causeway here, but it may be significant that two standing stones in Bernera overlook the site.
Work began in March 2021 on a new £500,000 bridge that will ensure a lifeline link for the small island community of Bernera. A 7.5-tonne weight ban had to be imposed in 2020 on the Bernera Bridge following discovery of defects, and a temporary replacement will enable the Council bin lorry, recycling collection vehicle and road tankers to continue reaching Bernera
This bridge carries the B8059 public road over a narrow channel between the island of Great Bernera (Bearnaraigh) to the N and the Isle of Lewis (to the S). Loch Roag and Loch Barraglom lie to the W and E respectively.