£1.5million project to renovate Victorian bridge

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The bridge spans the White Cart River in the heart of Paisley town centre, which is also the focus of a council-led, multi-million pound regeneration initiative.

The first pouring will see two prototype parapet panels being cast in modern ductile iron, using the same techniques employed 140 years ago to create the original cast iron items.

The prototypes will be used for load testing to simulate the effect of a vehicle hitting the railings. The data from these physical tests will be used to create a mathematical model of the prototypes which will then undergo further analysis. Once the tests are complete, a full set of new parapets and facia panels will be cast and installed.

Councillor Marie McGurk, convener of Renfrewshire Council's environment and infrastructure policy board, said: "Paisley was an industrial powerhouse in the Victorian age. This bridge is a magnificent monument to those days and is an integral part of Paisley's present-day road network. Maintaining and improving that road network is a vital part of our action plan to regenerate the town centre. The work we're doing in renovating and strengthening the bridge should see it through the next 140 years and secure the long term future of the structure."

Peter Low, Renfrewshire Council's principal engineer, said: "When the Abbey bridge was originally built, it was designed to take horses and carriages. We're now looking at ways of making sure the parapet can withstand a collision from a 40-tonne lorry."

"The Abbey Bridge doesn't have expansion joints, which has led to the original cast iron buckling over the years. The way the fascia was attached to the supporting girders also meant that it was impossible to maintain the bridge, which is why it has deteriorated so much."

The Abbey Bridge was built by Hanna, Donald and Wilson in 1879 and was widened in 1933. The original ironwork was made by the Abercorn Foundry in Paisley.

The prototype castings are being made by the Ballantine Bo'ness Iron Company Ltd which has done similar work for the Westminster Bridge in London. The firm has also done work for Buckingham Palace and made the re-production cannons for Edinburgh Castle's Half Moon Battery.

In 1993, a survey of the bridge found the 1933-era road-bed could cope with 40-tonne vehicles (all vehicle loads) but the footways, dating from 1879, could only take the weight of pedestrians. Bollards were installed as a temporary measure to protect the footways from vehicles accidentally mounting the pavement. The cast iron fascias are also unstable and in poor condition.

Press release: Monday 14 April 2008