A new bridge for Glasgow

A new bridge has been constructed in Glasgow which re-connects two historic neighbourhoods, Govan and Partick, on opposite banks of the River Clyde. The Govan-Partick bridge is designed for pedestrians and cyclists to cross the river on the same line as an historic ferry service.

It is an important piece of infrastructure not only for the neighbourhoods it connects but also for the relationship between city and river. Govan and neighbouring areas were home to most of Glasgow’s shipbuilding industry with land use on the banks of the river becoming incredibly complex. The lack of clarity on who owns the land and how it could create a more connected city is something that Empire Café have been attempting to unpick through their ‘Who Owns the Clyde’ podcast.

Govan-Partick bridge with heritage infrastructure retained in new scheme. Photo by: ©Matt McKenna, Dress for the Weather

Landmarks and Skateparks

The post-industrial scars are still very visible along the river edge despite the appearance of landmark buildings such as Foster’s OVO Hydro and SSE Armadillo, Chipperfield’s BBC building and Zaha Hadid’s Riverside Museum which the new bridge now connects directly with. The successful landscape architecture for the Riverside Museum was originally designed by Gross.Max and was developed with and widely acclaimed by the skateboarding community. However, the wider strategy to connect the Riverside Museum with other areas of the city has not materialised and this new bridge goes some way to address this.

View from bridge towards skatable landscape at Riverside Museum. Photo by: ©Matt McKenna, Dress for the Weather

Engineering Heritage | A new bridge for Glasgow

The engineering of the bridge is of note with 110m span steel cable stayed construction which swings open to allow boats to pass. Engineering enthusiasts and city explorers can take a zig-zag walk over and learn about all of the cities bridges using the ‘Glasgow’s Clyde Bridges’ Heritage Trail developed by The Institution of Civil Engineers. Our guided tours of the city often weave this heritage into the discussion about the contemporary masterplanning in a place where it is said ‘the river made the city and the city made the river’.
Our tours have also focussed on a reading of the social strata as one moves further from the heavy industry of the river and how historic and contemporary urban design and housing responds to these patterns.

Night image of the new Govan-Partick bridge. Photo by: ©Matt McKenna, Dress for the Weather

The bridge was completed in September 2024 with a construction cost of £29.5million via the Glasgow City Region City Deal project – funded by the Scottish and UK Governments. It was designed by Jacob’s for Glasgow City Council and constructed by Farrans Construction.

Detail of bridge with Riverside Museum and The Tall Ship in background. Photo by: ©Matt McKenna, Dress for the Weather

Written by Andy Campbell, Dress for the Weather