Day 63
Victoria Swing Bridge
Built between the years of 1871 and 1874, the Victoria Swing Bridge stands at the edge of the Shore area of Leith and near the mouth of the Water of Leith alongside Ocean Drive. It remains today a classic example of counterweighted swing bridges built at the time in Scotland. Originally devised to connect the Albert dock with the Edinburgh dock by engineers Rendel and Robertson, this bridge is known to be an iconic engineering masterpiece. A hydraulically operated swing bridge, spanning 212 ft with a clear span of 120 ft and weighing 620 tonnes made of wrought iron and timbre, it cost £30,000 to build at the time and was known to be the largest clear span swing bridge in the UK until 1937 when the Kincardine Bridge was built in Fife. Today, it remains the largest counterweighted swing bridge of its kind in Scotland.
Throughout the years, the bridge carried two railways, a road, and footpaths on either side. As designed, it was originally able to swing northwards towards the east side of the river, and its original power station remains on the other side of Ocean Drive today. Eventually, it carried across car traffic, but once a modern bridge was built alongside it, its ability to swing across the water was impeded. Fallen into disrepair, the timbre on the bridge was finally restored in 2000, but by 2018, the bridge was closed down again and added to the Buildings at Risk register. Today, a grade A listed building as well, one side of the bridge is open to pedestrian traffic, but it is clear that the bridge is in need of serious repair.
