Waverley Bridge, Road bridge and category A listed building in central Edinburgh, Scotland.
Waverley Bridge is a road bridge in central Edinburgh that crosses the valley once occupied by the Nor' Loch, linking Market Street in the Old Town to Princes Street in the New Town. The bridge is built from stone and steel and sits partly on top of Waverley Railway Station, which runs directly below it.
The current bridge was built in the 1890s by engineers Blyth and Westland, replacing an earlier crossing that had served the same route. The redesign was tied to the expansion of Waverley Station below, which required a new structure that could span the site while also covering part of the station roof.
Waverley Bridge sits at the meeting point of Edinburgh's two most visited areas, and crossing it gives a clear sense of how different the two sides feel. On one end stands the dense, irregular stone of the Old Town, and on the other the open, ordered layout of Princes Street.
The bridge is open mainly to pedestrians and cyclists, as vehicle access has been restricted for some years. It also serves as a direct entrance to Waverley Station, which is located just below the surface of the bridge.
Standing on the bridge and looking down, you can sometimes spot trains moving through the station directly beneath your feet through gaps in the structure. Few road bridges in the country share their foundation so directly with a working railway station.
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