A restrained Telford arch carries the town route over the Averon, preserving an early nineteenth-century crossing beneath later layers of Alness transport.
Quick facts
- Date
- 1811–1816
- Architect / designer
- Thomas Telford
- Type
- Single-arch rubble road bridge with ashlar dressings
- Designation
- Listed building, Category B (LB356)
- OS grid reference
- NH 65449 69632
Architecture, archaeology and continuing use
The bridge uses coursed rubble with ashlar dressings. A single chamfered arch ring spans the river between shallow end buttresses, and two string courses and an ashlar-coped parapet give the compact structure a clear horizontal finish.
Its story
Tenders were advertised in 1811 and construction belongs to Thomas Telford’s programme of Highland road improvement. The bridge was completed by 1816, before the railway viaduct added a second major masonry crossing nearby.
Why it is included
Category B listing protects a legible example of Telford’s road engineering at the point where Alness High Street meets the River Averon.
What to notice
- The single clean arch ring over the river.
- Two horizontal string courses below the parapet.
- The visual relationship with the later railway viaduct nearby.
Reading the surroundings
Use pavements and signed crossings, and do not lean over parapets or enter the river channel. Traffic conditions and river levels can change quickly.
Timeline
- 1811 An Inverness newspaper carried the invitation to tender for the bridge works.
- By 1816 Telford’s single-arch road bridge was complete.
- 1862 The railway viaduct introduced another monumental crossing close by.
What we know — and what remains uncertain
No recent structural report was reviewed, and the exact present highway classification is not asserted.
Sources & further reading
- Historic Environment Scotland: Alness Bridge, LB356 — Designation status, mapped location, date, fabric and architectural or archaeological interest.
- Highland HER: Alness Bridge over River Averon — Telford attribution, date range, mapped location and local bridge context.
Location
OS grid reference NH 65449 69632 · Location confidence: High: the national designation supplies an official mapped National Grid Reference; an additional source confirms the Place relationship, history or current identity. · Select the marker to open its satellite view in Google Maps. On desktop, drag Pegman (the yellow figure) onto a blue road. On mobile, turn on the Street View layer and tap a blue road. Other photo markers may be user-contributed.
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