Future of iconic Borders bridge in suspense

SPECIAL FEATURE by EWAN LAMB

As a £10 million project to restore the oldest vehicular suspension bridge in the world reaches its acclaimed conclusion near Berwick-on-Tweed, a similar river crossing installed by the same engineering genius just 25 miles away, and also dating from the early 1800s, faces a much more uncertain future.

The Union Chain Bridge across the River Tweed linking Scotland and England upstream from Berwick is world famous - the creation of naval captain Sir Samuel Brown  who first patented a design for wrought iron chain links to be used in suspension bridges in 1817. His Union bridge was completed in 1820 at a cost of £6,449.

Some ten years later Brown was commissioned by wealthy landowner William Mein, of Ormiston in Roxburghshire to construct a smaller version to span the River Teviot at Kalemouth for Mr Mein's private use. It is 180 feet in length compared to the Union bridge which measures 423 feet between its stone towers.

Soon after its completion, Mein allowed public use of the Kalemouth bridge under a system of tolls. According to old documents the charges in 1834 were a halfpenny for pedestrians, threepence for a horse and cart, sixpence for a gig and a shilling for a chaise.

Captain Brown (1776-1852) who resided at Netherbyres, Eyemouth was responsible for a significant number of suspension bridges, and was knighted by Queen Victoria in 1838.

The successful renovation of the Union bridge has been a joint venture between Scottish Borders Council (SBC) and Northumberland County Council with millions of pounds provided by the National Lottery to ease the considerable financial burden.

Kalemouth bridge between Jedburgh and Kelso is the sole responsibility of SBC, and the Borders local authority simply does not have the cash to tackle the challenging list of structural defects which forced its closure to vehicular traffic 27 months ago. The bridge is of national importance having been A-listed by Historic Scotland in 1977.

A new briefing note on the situation from John Curry, SBC's Director - Infrastructure & Environment says: "The bridge was closed to vehicular traffic in August 2020 on the grounds of safety. During planned repair works significant defects within the timber elements on the bridge were uncovered and these affect the bridge’s ability to carry vehicular traffic. Council officers have been undertaking further work to become more informed of the specific structural issues surrounding the bridge and the implications these may have on its ability to be re-opened to light vehicles. This process continues."

It was originally estimated (in November 2021) that repairs would cost the council up to £1.1 million, a sum which exceeds the entire £1 million annual budget for bridge maintenance in the region. And that would only pay for the replacement of the timber deck and balustrades with no allowance for other works.

But now, according to Mr Curry: "The recent cost of living increases and the current high inflation rate will only have increased these figures. These costs are so high in a large part due to the extensive scaffolding access system that will be required to allow work to be undertaken on the bridge safely. If additional works are identified following this more in depth structural assessment of the ironwork elements then costs will increase accordingly."

The £1 million a year maintenance budget is clearly inadequate given the number of bridges in council 'care'. The council has 1200 bridges to manage and maintain from this annual allocation. 

Mr Curry's briefing document explains: "This year has seen the completion of major refurbishment works to the A6105 Chirnside Bridge, the replacement of three smaller lifeline bridges, the strengthening of the B709 Dunhope Sike Bridge, the inspection of 400 bridges and the significant repair of a roadside wall supporting the A72 along with many other vital schemes. 

"Within our future works list we have high priority repairs required to the A698 Leet Bridge (concrete repairs), the A6112 Brockholes Bridge (concrete repairs), the B711 Hardenburn Bridge (masonry repairs) and the B6359 East of Newlands Bridge (replacement)."

He concedes that with such high costs anticipated at Kalemouth Bridge external funding will be required and securing this will take some time. 

Meanwhile a detailed inspection of the bridge by an external structural engineering consultant using specialist access equipment is being procured and should be undertaken in the near future. 

The results of this inspection and subsequent calculation work will help determine what, if any additional work, is needed to the ironwork on the bridge. The timber elements, which need fully replaced, are ultimately supported by the ironwork via a system of cables and hangers. Information from this further work will be used to produce a more robust cost estimate for the full refurbishment works.

Mr Curry concludes: "On behalf of the Council I apologise for the inconvenience caused by the bridge closure, and I am sorry that I cannot deliver more definitive news on this occasion. The Council is working to find a solution to see this bridge carry light vehicles once more, however, it is hoped that this briefing note, in addition to the earlier one, gives some explanation as to the challenges and engineering complexities involved in this project."

A council spokesperson told us: "A further briefing note is currently targeted for Spring 2023 which will discuss the findings of the engineering consultant works in more detail."