Glasgow City Council has announced the official opening date of the new bridge set link Govan and Partick.
The formal opening of the Govan-Partick Bridge will take place on Friday 6 September, with ministers from the Scottish and UK Governments attending alongside the Leader of Glasgow City Council and local school children.
The bridge will then be open for public use from mid-morning on Saturday 7 September.
The new crossing will span the Clyde from Water Row in Govan to Pointhouse Quay in Partick, and his designed to improve connectivity within the city. Bosses behind the project also suggest it could generate a 23% increase in jobs that are accessible within a 20-minute walk of Govan Cross and an 87% increase in the number of jobs within a 10-minute cycle.
Council Leader Susan Aitken has hailed the opening of the bridge as a major achievement for for Glasgow.
She said: ““September will be a milestone in the modern history of these two great communities. It will also be a milestone for Glasgow and the wider city-region.
“Our riverside and the communities either side of it are home to the biggest economic opportunities in Europe, but also many of Scotland’s biggest social challenges.
“Reconnecting Govan and Partick can help unlock the potential along the Clyde, create more opportunities for the people who live and work there, and continue the transformation of these areas.
“Glaswegians often tell us how they would like to see the Clyde having a more prominent role in the life of the city. This new riverside landmark does just that.”
READ MORE:
- What new Govan-Partick bridge will bring to Glasgow and when it will be open
- Video footage of Govan-Partick bridge installation
Following the opening of the bridge, there will be celebratory community events on both banks of the Clyde that weekend - the Clydebuilt Festival will take place on the north bank on 7 and 8 September beside the Riverside Museum, with the Govan Footbridge Festival on the south bank at Water Row, Govan Cross and Govan Road, on 7 September.
The Red Hot Chilli Pipers, Scottish singer Horse McDonald, local band Colonel Mustard and the Dijon Five, Shooglenifty and talented singer-songwriter Ben Walker will perform on two outdoor stages.
Local school choirs, The Gilded Lilies singing group, Govan Allsorts Community Choir, and the award-winning Musicians in Exile will also perform, while a Community Cèilidh will be held on Govan Road.
Paul MacAlindin, organiser of the Govan Footbridge Festival, said: “The opening of the new Govan-Partick Bridge is a fantastic opportunity for the communities on either side of the Clyde to come together.
“Historically, you could wade across the Clyde at low tide, before the ship building industry widened and deepened the river. Now, folk from both sides can explore each other’s neighbourhoods once more.
“This is a great day for Govan, for Glasgow and for Scotland, and we’re delighted to mark the occasion with live music for everyone.”
The Govan-Partick Bridge is one of the longest opening pedestrian/cycle bridges in Europe, with a width of six metres and two spans - the moving span, which weighs 650 tonnes, is 99 metres long and uses the South Pier (at Water Row) as its access; and the fixed span, which weighs 45 tonnes and is 15.7 metres long.
Construction costs had been estimated at around £10m but it's now expected to come in at just under £30m.
The project is receiving joint funding from the UK and Scottish Governments through the £1.13bn Glasgow City Region City Deal.
Signed in August 2014 by the eight member authorities with the UK and Scottish Governments, the partnership is designed to improve infrastructure, achieve growth in life sciences, support business innovation and boost employment.
The UK Government provided £500m which was matched by the Scottish Government and a further £130m was provided by local authorities.
UK Government Minister for Scotland, Kirsty McNeill added: "Kick-starting growth and delivering economic stability is at the heart of the UK Government's priorities.
"It's great news for Glasgow that this UK and Scottish Government funded bridge linking Govan and Partick will soon be open, boosting the economy, bringing communities together and supporting redevelopment."
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