Renfrewshire Council

This will create an attractive waterfront area, connecting communities to their work, health education and leisure facilities and attracting new jobs and developments to the riverside.

It will also see better access for businesses and suppliers to Scotland's home of manufacturing innovation AMIDS. The project is called Clyde Waterfront and Renfrew Riverside and it is funded through the Glasgow City Region City Deal.

Waterfront flythrough

Construction

Civil engineering specialist GRAHAM is the principal contractor.

Planning consent is in place and the design and construction is almost complete, with the new bridge due to open in Spring 2025.

You can keep up-to-date with construction, read the latest contractor newsletters and find out more about sub-contractor opportunities on the GRAHAM website where there is also a subscription service for email updates.

The Renfrew Bridge - the first opening road bridge across the River Clyde

A new two-lane road bridge across the River Clyde for vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists and opening for passing ships. Spanning 184-metres from Renfrew to the boundary between Glasgow and West Dunbartonshire, new bridge approach roads will connect Meadowside Street in Renfrew on the south side, with Dock Street on the north side in Clydebank.

The bridge design draws on the area's rich shipbuilding heritage and uses a cable stay system similar to the Queensferry Crossing, as well as a twin-leaf design with each leaf opening and closing horizontally. Most commercial ships travel on the river during high tide and when this happens, the bridge will be closed to road traffic, cyclists and pedestrians. There will be clear signage nearby, on the approach to the bridge and information online to provide advance notice of any closures - allowing people to plan ahead.

Renfrew North Development Road

A new 750m road is set to connect the bridge to the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District Scotland (AMIDS), linking Meadowside Street to Argyll Avenue in Renfrew. Its alignment has been chosen to minimise impact on Blythswood and the new road will reduce the volume of Renfrew town centre traffic using Inchinnan Road.

Walking and cycling routes

There will be new walking and cycling routes alongside all new roads through Renfrew and across the bridge, connecting to Yoker train station and the national cycling network. We are also improving access to the Clyde footpath, linking it better to Inchinnan Road and opening up parts along the route. A dedicated route off main roads will be available from the bridge to Paisley Gilmour Street train station.

Project benefits

Jobs and business growth

The project will help to create jobs, generate vital work for local suppliers and accelerate local and regional economy.

• More than 950 jobs have supported the project construction 
• Local suppliers have been able to bid for all subcontract and supplier work over £10,000
• Apprenticeships, work experience placements, school and college visits have been included in the construction contract.
• Some 1,400 permanent jobs and 950 temporary construction roles could follow from the estimated £230million in private sector investment attracted to both sides of the Clyde
• Access is being improved to development sites and businesses based here will gain access to a bigger customer and supplier base throughout Renfrewshire, Clydebank, Glasgow and the wider Glasgow City Region.
• It will help realise the full potential of Scotland's manufacturing innovation district AMIDS which we are developing next to Glasgow Airport, attracting more companies to locate here.

Vibrant waterfront

We are celebrating the importance of the River Clyde and the new bridge, walking and cycling routes and landscaping is improving the look and feel along the waterfront.

• Communities in Renfrew, Clydebank, Yoker and the wider city region will be better connected to their places of work and to local hospitals, education centres and leisure opportunities close to the Clyde waterfront.
• The new routes will reduce congestion and shorten journey times, improving public transport reliability.
• We know how important woodland areas are for natural habitat and wildlife and the project has not facilitated development access to the Blythswood, safeguarding the woodland by treating and removing non-native invasive species and removing diseased trees.
• Renfrew town centre air quality will be improved, creating a more pleasant environment.
• Where localised tree removal is required, replacement planting along the new road and along the White Cart river at the nearby manufacturing district will result in a larger area of publicly accessible woodland.