Basic Site Details

Name: Forth Road Bridge
Town, district or village: Firth of Forth
City or county:  
Country:  
Parish:  
Status: A listed
Grid ref:
Notes:  

Building Type Classification

The building is classified under the following categories:
 ClassificationOriginal classification?Notes
Item 1 of 2Bridge  
Item 2 of 2Road bridge  

Events

The following date-based events are associated with this building:
 FromToEvent typeNotes
Item 1 of 17November 1957 Design exhibited'design, shown in Edinburgh in model form for the first time'; 'the fourth longest suspension bridge in the world' per Builder 29 November 1957, p981
Item 2 of 1719581964Build/construction 
Item 3 of 17January 1958(?) Plans prepared, construction not yet begun'Contracts Open' - 'First phase of new Forth road bridge, comprising main pier foundations, including compressed air cassion work, tunnel anchorages (involving rock tunnelling) and r.c. side towers. Mott, Hay and Anderson, constg. engrs., 9 Iddesleigh-hse., Caxton-st., SW1. Dep. £10.' per Builder 10 January 1958 p116
Item 4 of 1731 January 1958 Proposed'Proposals for the road system to service the new Forth Road Bridge have been largely completed....The bridge should be completed by the end of 1962 and is to carry an estimated 12,000 vehicles per day. It will be a toll bridge. Work should start in April.' per Builder p243
Item 5 of 17February 1958 Proposed'The Secretary of State for Scotland has aporved a plan to invite three leading British bridgebuilders - Sir William Arrol and Co., Ltd., Dorman Long and Co., Ltd., and the Cleveland Bridge and Engineering Co., Ltd. - to combine forces to build the Forth Road Bridge. This plan comes from Mott, Hay and Anderson, consultants for the Forth Road Bridge Committee. Negotiations have started and tenders are expected in June.

[An extended date for submission of] tenders...for the piers and anchorages... April 30 at the request of the interested firms. The ...tenders will be held...until those for the superstructure are ready for approval.' per Builder 28 Feb. 1958 p423
Item 6 of 1722 August 1958 Proposed'The Forth Road Bridge will now cost £16.5m... The [Forth Bridge Joint] Board approved tenders worth £10,860,000 for the superstructure, piers and foundations. [These are s]ubject to the approval by the Secretary of State for Scotland...' The balance of the funds will be repayable government grants totaling £4,650,000 and £500,000 from local authorities. 'The bridge will be a single-span 3,300-ft. bridge, the fourth longest in the world; towers will be 500 ft. high and the roadway 150 ft. clear of high water.' per Builder p332
Item 7 of 171 September 1958 Build/constructionfirst phase of work began per Builder 5 Sept 1958 p418
Item 8 of 175 September 1958 Scheme accepted'The Secretary of State for Scotland, Mr. John S. Maclay, has approved the Forth Road Bridge Joint Board's recommendation, made at their meeting on August 15, for placing the first two main contracts for work on the Forth Road Bridge...It is now estimated that the total cost of constructional work on the bridge...will amount to £15,100,000.' per Builder p418
Item 9 of 1721 November 1958 Build/construction'first pile...driven home by the Secretary of State for Scotland, Mr. John Maclay at Port Edgar, South Queensferry' per Builder 28 Nov 1958 p935
Item 10 of 1726 May 195928 May 1959Design exhibitedInstitution of Structural Engineers (Scottish Branch) Jubilee Exhibition in the Assembly Rooms, George St., Edinburgh - 5ft. model of new bridge, progress photos of construction work, 1890 book with engravings showing progress of old Forth Bridge
per Builder 5 June 1959 p1021
Item 11 of 171960 Design exhibitedRA Exhibition; drawing by A. C. Webb reprinted in Builder 6 May 1960 p869
Item 12 of 1729 July 1960 Contract offered£800,000, two-year contract for construction of southern approach road - including seven bridges and three flyovers - awarded to A. M. Carmichael Ltd., of Edinburgh, per Builder p218
Item 13 of 1712 August 1960 ProposedMott, Hay and Anderson Consulting Engineers accepting tenders by 14 October for construction of the approach viaducts, £10 dep. per Builder p304
Item 14 of 1730 December 1960 Contract offeredadditional £3.17m contracts announced - Whatlings Ltd of Glasgow awarded £2.25m contract for northern approach roads, £920,000 contract for bridge viaducts to Reed and Mallik Ltd, Muir of Ord, Ross-shire; scheme for the northern approach roads - including two 1,000 ft long tunnels, a 6,000 ft viaduct, 10 concrete bridges, 3 1/2 miles of dual carriageways and 4 miles of connecting roads - will provide a motorway link to Fife; the road scheme will also include the first 'octopus' juntion in Britain per Builder p1223
Item 15 of 17January 1962 ProposedLowest tender for the first section of the new trunk road from the Forth Road Bridge leading to Fife side, extending from Masterton roundabout to Duloch, submitted by Whatlings Ltd.
Item 16 of 171965 Won award or awardsCivic Trust Award (Class I) Bridge and southern approach roads
Item 17 of 171969 AdditionGarages for service vehicles added to administration block

People

Design and Construction

The following individuals or organisations have carried out design/construction work. Where architects or practices worked together, matching letters appear beside their names in the Partnership Group column.
 NameRolePartnership GroupFromToNotes
Item 1 of 7Mott, Hay & Anderson  (?)  
Item 2 of 7(Sir) Giles Gilbert Scott A1947 As consultant architect and for design of administration block at S end
Item 3 of 7Giles Gilbert Scott & Partners A1947 As consultant architect and for design of administration block at S end.
Item 4 of 7Freeman Fox & Partners B1947(?) Consulting engineers for design
Item 5 of 7(Sir) Harry Anthony Wheeler (or simply Sir Anthony Wheeler) J1969 Garages for service vehicles added to administration block
Item 6 of 7Frank Sproson J1969 Garages for service vehicles added to administration block
Item 7 of 7Wheeler & Sproson J1969 Garages for service vehicles added to administration block

Clients

The following individuals or organisations have commissioned work on this building/design:
 NameNotes
Item 1 of 1Forth Road Bridge Joint Board 

Related Buildings, Structures and Designs

Child Structures

This structure or site has the following component or child structures (click on an item to view details):
 Building NameNotes
Item 1 of 2Area of Special Control for Advertisements 
Item 2 of 2Car Park, south end of Forth Road Bridge 

References

Bibliographic References

The following books contain references to this building:
 Author(s)DateTitlePartPublisherNotes
Item 1 of 5Glendinning, Miles1997Rebuilding Scotland: The Postwar Vision, 1945-75  Tuckwell Press Ltdp26 An early proposal for the Forth Road Bridge in a heavily Art Deco style. Also an image as built, a view of the jacking corner, Oct 1960.
p27 Image of bridge in 1961
p165, p167-8
Item 2 of 5McWilliam, Colin1978Lothian (The Buildings of Scotland)  p437-8
Item 3 of 5Miles Glendinning, Diane Watters, David Whitham Docomomo Scotland Leaflet  p228 Image
Item 4 of 5Pride, Glen L1999The Kingdom of Fife2nd EditionThe Rutland Pressp7
Item 5 of 5Willis, Peter1977New architecture in Scotland  p6 Photograph

Periodical References

The following periodicals contain references to this building:
 Periodical NameDateEditionPublisherNotes
Item 1 of 19Builder24 May 1946  p498
Item 2 of 19Builder21 March 1947  p263 [perspective drawing]
Item 3 of 19Builder29 November 1957  'Forth Road Bridge Plans', p981
Item 4 of 19Builder10 January 1958  p117
Item 5 of 19Builder31 January 1958  'Road System Proposals,' p243
Item 6 of 19Builder28 February 1958  'Road Bridge Plan Approved,' p423
Item 7 of 19Builder22 August 1958  'Forth Bridge Contracts' p332
Item 8 of 19Builder5 September 1958  'Road Bridge Contracts' p418
Item 9 of 19Builder28 November 1958  'Work Started on Road Bridge' p935
Item 10 of 19Builder5 June 1959  'Structural Engineers' Exhibition' p1021
Item 11 of 19Builder6 May 1960  p869; illustration - see note above
Item 12 of 19Builder29 July 1960  'Forth Bridge Approach Road' p218
Item 13 of 19Builder12 August 1960  p304
Item 14 of 19Builder16 September 1960  captioned construction progress photo with concrete tower on Queensferry side in foreground p582
Item 15 of 19Builder30 December 1960  'Forth Road Bridge Contracts' p1223
Item 16 of 19Builder25 August 1961  'Car Parking in Central Edinburgh, Immediate and Long-Term Proposals to Meet a Worsening Situation' p349 -discussion of its role in bringing more traffic to Edinburgh
Item 17 of 19Builder12 January 1962  p97
Item 18 of 19Builder4 September 1964  p467-468
Item 19 of 19Builder28 January 1966  p.169 Civic Trust Award