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 was discussed at a meeting of Full Council on Thursday 27 March. 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 during 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.
Our roads service and engineering team are committed to the ongoing review of the diversion and signage to ensure it meets the needs of the community and visitors to the area.
Further measures have been put in place – 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.
Street lighting
On Monday 28 May, our streetlighting team will begin assessment and repair of the lantern lights on Kirkcudbright Bridge that are not working properly. This is to improve safety for those using the bridge.
Our operatives will be using hand tools only, as the bridge remains closed to all vehicles.
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 revised timetable:
| Kirkcudbright Harbour Square | 0900 | 1035 | 1500 | 1700 |
| Merse Road | … | 1100 | 1525 | … |
| Brighouse Bay (via The Stell/Dhoon) | … | 1120 | 1545 | … |
| Borgue | … | 1130 | 1555 | … |
| Merse Road | 0925 | 1145 | 1610 | 1725 |
| Kirkcudbright Harbour Square | 0950 | 1205 | 1635 | 1755 |
The Service 431 is also operating a revised timetable due to the closure.
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 will continue to work closely with Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, Police Scotland, the Scottish Ambulance Service, Maritime and Coastguard Agency and the RNLI throughout the closure in an effort to minimise impact on emergency services.
Business support
Local business advisers from the council's Business Gateway team have visited businesses in Kirkcudbright 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.
A practical session to help businesses stay visible and connected during the disruption caused by the bridge closure is being run on Wednesday 30 April at 5.30pm at Kirkcudbright Galleries. Visit the Business Gateway website for more information and to book a place.
Events
If you have any events planned for the coming months that would normally use the bridge, please let us know as early as possible. Find the best way to contact us here: Contact us - Dumfries and Galloway Council.
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.
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 has received the full assessment report from its engineering consultant, Mott MacDonald.
A full-day meeting between council officers and the contractor took place on 17 April to seek clarification and robustly scrutinise the technical information and outputs/outcomes within the report.
The full assessment report continues to be reviewed and a further update on the findings and outcomes of this assessment report will be provided, as soon as possible. This will include all viable options available to us for the short, medium and long terms.
A report will be produced and presented to councillors at the next meeting of the council’s Economy and Infrastructure Committee outlining the findings and outcomes of the report in addition to the range of options being considered.
Although the next scheduled Economy and Infrastructure Committee is due to take place on Tuesday 3 June, the chair of the committee has confirmed that if required, an earlier, special meeting of the Economy and Infrastructure Committee would be organised.
Council officers have instructed 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 has been confirmed within the council's capital investment programme for financial year 2025/26.
This was outlined in the capital investment report that was presented to councillors at the council's Economy and Infrastructure Committee on 15 April 2025. At the meeting, councillors reaffirmed the council's commitment to Kirkcudbright Bridge and recognised it as a strategic priority for the council.
The report was approved by councillors, who agreed to a budget for expenditure for Kirkcudbright Bridge for 2025/26 that includes:
- 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
An update report on Kirkcudbright Bridge will be added to our Economy and Infrastructure Committee as a standing agenda item from June 2025.