Temporary bridge protects Scotland’s rural landscape during major Project VISTA works

Killin, Scotland

Project Overview

Location	Killin, Scotland
Sector	Power & Energy
Products	Mabey Universal Bridge

During a major initiative to remove electricity transmission lines impacting some of the most scenic landscapes across Scotland’s National Parks, our temporary bridging solutions played their part in enabling the works.

The challenge

Heritage sensitivity

The project took place within the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park, requiring careful planning to protect the natural landscape and avoid disruption to a historic bridge and popular tourist area.

Access constraints

The rural setting and narrow local infrastructure made it difficult to move heavy construction traffic and materials, necessitating the installation of a large temporary bridge to support vehicles up to 55 tonnes.

Complex engineering

Designing, assembling, and launching a 45-metre modular bridge capable of handling heavy loads across the River Dochart required precise coordination, bespoke engineering, and efficient on-site assembly within a short timeframe.

Our solution

To support Project VISTA’s work in relocating overhead power lines underground, Mabey Hire designed and supplied a 45-metre temporary bridge using its modular Universal bridging system.

The bridge was installed to divert heavy construction traffic away from the narrow historic bridge in Killin, protecting both the structure and the surrounding environment within Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park. Designed to handle vehicles of up to 55 tonnes, including cable drum trailers and tractors, the bridge provided a safe and efficient access route for construction activities while minimising disruption to the local community and visitors.

View Mabey Universal Bridge

Working closely with Morgan Sindall Infrastructure, Baker Hicks, and the National Park Authority, Mabey Hire contributed from the early planning stages, providing technical input and visual demonstrations of the installation process.

With abutments pre-built by Morgan Sindall, the modular bridge sections were assembled and launched in just three weeks using on-site machinery. Featuring a 4.5 metre wide roadway, the bridge is one of the largest of its kind deployed in the UK and will remain in place for 62 weeks to facilitate the underground cabling works, helping ensure the safe and smooth delivery of this major landscape enhancement project.

Get in touch

“As a contractor covering a wide range of project types, we’ve worked with Mabey Hire on many occasions in the past. There are very few competitors who could have supplied the size of bridge required for the Killin VISTA project. Mabey Hire shared its time lapse footage of past installations with the project team here during the tendering phase, which was very insightful, and the Mabey Universal bridge installed over the river has been specified to cope with heavy construction traffic, including low-loaders and the cable lorries. The work has gone well.”

Alan Hendrie

Project Manager / Morgan Sindall Infrastructure Scotland