Boot prints of 1960s workers who built Tay Road Bridge found during roadworks

Boot prints left by workers who built the Tay Road Bridge in the 1960s have been found during roadworks on the crossing.

The bridge is being fully resurfaced for the first time since it was built in 1966.

The southbound side is closed until later this year with a contraflow in place.

An update on the works was issued on Thursday.

It said: “VolkerLaser [the contractor] are progressing with the deck preparation.

1960s boot prints on Tay Road Bridge

“You can still see the fine milling machines at work as they remove the remnants of the bitumen used as deck waterproofing in the 1960s.

“More boot prints from the workers in the 1960s have been uncovered and these help connect us to our colleagues from the past.

“These imprints will be removed when the final deck preparation is undertaken just prior to waterproofing commencing.”

Bridge manager Alan Hutchison said: “You can see the footprints now due to the deterioration of the concrete.

“You wouldn’t have noticed the footprints at the time as they covered the track with a waterproof covering.

“I’m guessing that the man wore a size 10 boot. He could have been around six feet tall, I’m guessing that as I’m a similar height and the length of the steps are similar.”

The roadworks on the Tay Road Bridge have been hampered by bad weather.

The update added: “Works are currently progressing well, although the wind and rain over the last week couple of weeks did hamper contractor efforts at erecting the scaffolding needed to provide access to repair the concrete soffits of the outer carriageway cantilevers.

“The windy weather lost us a few days of work on this element of our works.

“We are hoping for good weather as we move into the latter part of April and into May, so that the good progress can be maintained.”

It is hoped that the works will be completed by the end of September.