Work to install a new 36m bridge over the Douglas Water has been completed, as seen in a new timelapse video shared by South Lanarkshire Council.

A time-lapse video of the new structure being delicately pushed out over the Douglas Water and lowered into position captures the scale of the construction project and compresses it to a bite-sized experience.

Contractors I and H Brown captured the images as the 36m span was put into position. The new crossing both replaces and improves on the previous bridge:

• There will be no weight restriction imposed on the new bridge (the old bridge had a 10 tonne weight restriction).


• The new structure can accommodate abnormal vehicles up to 80 tonnes in gross weight.

• The structure carries a 4.2m wide carriageway and a separate footway with a width of 1.2m over the Douglas Water.

The structure is supported on newly constructed reinforced concrete abutments, each bearing onto 14 reinforced concrete piles.

The time-lapse video shows how the bridge was assembled on site before being pushed out over the crossing from a specially created platform. A purpose built counterbalance ensured it stayed on track.

Once precisely aligned with the weight bearing abutments, the bridge was lowered on to the four plinths. The operation to install the span was carried out over a total of three weeks.