Kirkcudbright Bridge remains closed to all vehicles in the interest of public safety and to protect the structural integrity of this important crossing while our council agrees next steps for the longer-term.
This follows the initial findings of assessment of the structural condition of the bridge provided on Friday 21 March at 4pm by structural engineers commissioned by the council. The bridge was closed by the council at 7pm, Friday 21 March.
A signed diversion route is in place. The bridge will remain open for pedestrians and cyclists. There are no plans to reopen the bridge to cars during the ongoing closure.
The safety of members of the public is Dumfries and Galloway Council’s number-one priority.
We fully appreciate the inconvenience this closure has caused and continue to engage with the local community and partners – including emergency services and transport providers – to minimise disruption during this closure. We apologise for any disruption and inconvenience.
Although the length of the closure remains unknown, we are committed to keeping the local community up-to-date.
A report on the bridge's closure will be discussed at a meeting of Full Council on Thursday 27 March. The meeting starts at 10.30am and you can watch it online.
See our council social media (Facebook and X) for further updates.
Effects on council services
Road diversion
We have implemented a diversion route for all vehicles for the duration of the road closure.
The council is inspecting the closure and diversion route twice a day to ensure the bridge closure is in force and diversion signage is intact.
The council is also considering further measures – including enhanced signage on parts of the diversion route – to help explain to drivers where the road closure is in relation to Cumstoun Bridge and Borgue.
Our Roads Service operatives will also monitor all routes in and out of Kirkcudbright outwith the signed diversion route, to ensure the roads network is operating as normal.
Public transport
The Service 517 bus is operating shuttle journeys to and from the Merse. Those travelling between the Merse and Kirkcudbright will not be charged.
Service 517 timetable:
| Kirkcudbright Harbour Square | 0915 | 1015 | 1145 | … | 1710 |
| Merse Road | … | 1035 | … | … | 1730 |
| Brighouse Bay (via The Stell/Dhoon) | … | 1057 | … | … | … |
| Borgue | … | 1107 | … | 1625 | 1740 |
| Merse Road | 0935 | … | 1205 | 1635 | … |
| Kirkcudbright Harbour Square | 0957 | 1125 | 1227 | 1657 | 1805 |
Our council is in discussions with bus operators to see if they can provide an additional shuttle bus service to/from Kirkcudbright and the Merse.
School bus
The school bus routes have been changed to ensure pupils are able to get to and from Kirkcudbright Primary and Kirkcudbright Academy.
Emergency Services
We are working closely with Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, Police Scotland, the Scottish Ambulance Service, Maritime and Coastguard Agency and the RNLI to discuss alternative arrangements in an effort to minimise impact on emergency services, as a matter of priority.
Business support
Local business advisers from the council's Business Gateway team will visit businesses in Kirkcudbright in the coming days to raise awareness of the services and support on offer. Businesses can contact 01387 808738, email dumgal@bgateway.com or visit www.bgatewaydumgal.com or www.bgateway.com.
Bin collections
There will be no impact on weekly bin collections in this area.
Background
Kirkcudbright Bridge is located on the A755 and provides access to and from Kirkcudbright heading towards Gatehouse of Fleet, including the Merse.
Kirkcudbright Bridge is a century-old structure that has been weight restricted since the 1970s.
Ongoing deterioration means that its strength has and will continue to reduce with age, and over the last few decades action has been taken to manage this.
The introduction of a 17-tonne weight restriction (empty vehicles excepted) took place in 1993, following a structural load carrying assessment in 1992.
At this point Wig Wag flashing beacons were installed, which were designed to prevent two large vehicles in opposing lanes from meeting on the bridge at the same time.
The council’s consultant structural engineer, Mott MacDonald, was appointed to undertake a principal inspection and assessment of the bridge in 2024.
This included work in October 2024 to survey, inspect and take samples for testing from the bridge. The bridge was closed to vehicles and pedestrians for 4 days.
From October 2024 the council carried out site observations to determine the effectiveness of the weight restriction signage and Wig Wag system. It was found that many vehicles using the bridge weighed significantly more than the 17-tonne weight limit.
As a result, the council moved to introduce a 7.5-tonne weight restriction in January 2025 to protect the structural integrity of the bridge and safeguard bridge users.
This 7.5-tonne restriction was temporary, pending the outcome of Mott MacDonald’s further assessment, which is set to be completed by the end of March 2025.
Since the introduction of the 7.5-tonne temporary weight restriction in January 2025 the council has continued to monitor traffic. Despite early efforts to protect the structure and limit weight on the crossing, monitoring has shown that heavy vehicles with weight well in excess of the safe limit have continued to use the bridge.
Mott MacDonald's initial findings of assessment, which the council received on Friday 21 March, highlighted significant concerns over the structural integrity of the bridge.
The main findings were:
"Overall, we find that the bridge does not pass assessment for the currently permitted level of traffic loading, 7.5 tonnes."
"We find that the bridge does not pass assessment for 3 tonnes loading, which is the minimum traffic loading category available in compliance with Design Manual for Roads and Bridges standards."
The full structure was assessed and the critical elements of concern were the bowstrings (main beams that run end-to-end from the feet of the arch, like the string of a bow and arrow) and the stringers (very small beams hidden beneath the road surface, running parallel with the bowstrings – supporting the deck which cars drive on).
On receipt of the findings, we closed the bridge to all vehicles. As a result of temporary barriers being removed twice on Friday evening (21 March), these were replaced with concrete barriers on the morning of Saturday 22 March in the interests of public safety.
Next steps
Following receipt of the initial findings of assessment, the council is awaiting the full report from its engineering consultant, Mott MacDonald. This will be completed and delivered to the council by the end of March 2025.
Council officers are making arrangements with another technical consultant to carry out further independent checks of Mott MacDonald's assessment to ensure all potential options available for the long-term management of the bridge are considered.
The Kirkcudbright Bridge project is included within the council's capital investment programme for financial year 2025/26.
This will be outlined in a report due to be presented to councillors at the council's Economy and Infrastructure Committee on 15 April 2025. There, a budget will be proposed to pay for:
- the ongoing road closure
- the current refinement analysis work
- the independent checks
- any essential repairs where feasible as recommended from Mott MacDonald's assessment
- development of forward management plans for the bridge
- initial review of work done to date on a potential replacement for the bridge
A further report will be presented to our Economy and Infrastructure Committee at the earliest opportunity on the agreed timescales associated with the refinement analysis work and the independent checks of the assessment results.