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Skye Bridge | |
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Coordinates | 57°16′45.72″N 5°44′24.57″W / 57.2793667°N 5.7401583°W |
Carries | A87, Station Road |
Crosses | Loch Alsh |
Official name | Skye Bridge |
Characteristics | |
Material | Concrete and steel |
Piers in water | 2 |
History | |
Designer | Miller-Dywidag and Arup |
Construction start | 1992 |
Opened | 16 October 1995 |
Replaces | Caledonian MacBrayne Kyle of Lochalsh ferry |
Location | |
The Skye Bridge (Scottish Gaelic: Drochaid an Eilein Sgitheanaich) is a road bridge over Loch Alsh, Scotland, connecting the Isle of Skye to the island of Eilean Bàn. The name is also used for the whole Skye Crossing, which further connects Eilean Bàn to the mainland across the Carrich Viaduct.[1] The crossing forms part of the A87.
Traditionally, the usual route from the mainland to Skye was the shortest crossing, with a length of around 500 metres (1,640 ft), across the sound between the villages of Kyle of Lochalsh on the mainland and Kyleakin on the island's east coast. A ferry service operated from around 1600, run by private operators and latterly by Caledonian MacBrayne.