It is a landmark that will connect two Glasgow communities as part of a £250million regeneration - the largest outside of London.
And now the cyclist, pedestrian and wheeler Sighthill Bridge over the M8 will soon open to the public.
As part of an active travel network connecting Sighthill, the nearby city centre and neighbouring communities in North Glasgow the bridge is a key part of regenerating the area.
Read more: Govan to Partick bridge: landmark stage of new bridge completed
The main span of the Bridge’s structure is made of Cor-Ten Steel, which will result in lower maintenance costs, and also reflects both the area's industrial heritage and the front of the local St Martin’s Primary School campus.
Key dimensions
Weighing 1,000 tonnes and 74.24 metres across, with a narrowest width of 7.5metres, including 1.25 metres of landscaping on either side, the bridge deck is part of a striking structure, with 800 trees, 10,000 plants and a stunning southern approach - with an approach ramp of 210 metres - featuring in the bridge’s landscaping.
Councillor Susan Aitken, Leader of Glasgow City Council and Chair of the Glasgow City Region City Deal, said: "The ongoing regeneration of Sighthill is one of the biggest projects of its kind on these islands - and the completion of this remarkable bridge is a real landmark in that journey. It signals the reconnection of Sighthill with not only the city centre but also neighbouring communities in North Glasgow.”
Scottish Government Business Minister Ivan McKee said the opening of the new bridge over the M8 represents another milestone in the delivery of the Sighthill Regeneration Project as part of the Scottish Government-funded Glasgow City Region City Deal.
He added: "This investment will make it easier to travel from the north of the city, contributing to sustainable economic growth by creating jobs, encouraging active travel and providing the infrastructure to support and attract businesses to Glasgow and the surrounding areas.”
Active travel
Karen McGregor, Scotland Director at Sustrans, said: “This new link is an important achievement for Sighthill, allowing many more people in the area to leave the car at home when making their everyday journeys. The new bridge not only provides a safe and accessible walking, wheeling, and cycling link across the M8 corridor, it also connects Sighthill residents with National Cycle Network Route 754 along the Forth & Clyde Canal as well as amenities and wider active travel links in Glasgow city centre.”
Read more: Joan Eardley painting altered but could still fetch five figure sum
The Sighthill Bridge was funded through the Glasgow City Region City Deal, with additional funding from Sustrans. The Scottish and UK Governments are each providing City Deal funding for £500million for infrastructure projects in the city region.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel