South Lanarkshire Council has spent £57,554.37 repairing a historic stone bridge after a series of crashes and mishaps involving drivers who follow their sat-navs into trouble. The Category B-listed Newhousemill Bridge, known locally as the “wee bridge”, dates back to the late 18th century and sits on Newhousemill Road between East Kilbride and Hamilton.
The spending comes after the local authority increased council tax by 6% for the 2025–2026 financial year and 6.5% for the 2026/27 financial year following its budget decision in February. The narrow approach has become a nightmare for drivers of delivery vehicles who find themselves unable to squeeze through — or turn back — after blindly following navigation directions.
Repeated incidents and recovery operations
Police are often called to help remove stranded lorries and vans, with recovery operations causing disruption for other road users. The bridge has its own Facebook page with almost 40,000 followers, featuring regular updates and pictures of the latest breakdowns, accidents and stranded motorists. Locals regularly post on the page before setting off, asking whether the bridge is open.
Frustrated users have called for tougher action against drivers who ignore warnings, with posts showing five incidents so far this month. One commented: “Jeezo if a car can’t get through that there’s no hope for human kind.” Another wrote: “If you can’t make that you should be reported to the DLA, have your licence removed and then be flogged.” A third wrote: “Just fine them. Only way to stop this and help pay for repairing the damage to the bridge. Need a sign on approach saying wee bridge ahead, idiots turn back.”
Costly repairs and warning signs
The Sunday Mail can reveal council bosses have carried out eight sets of repairs to Newhousemill Bridge since 2023, including four up to October this year and significant damage in another incident on September 30. The biggest bills have followed damage to the bridge’s stone parapets and walls.
In March 2023, repairs to seven cubic metres of stone parapet and spandrel wall, including rebuilding and pointing work following accident damage, cost £23,126.68. In March this year, repairs to six metres of damaged stone parapet cost a further £15,123.38. Just three months later, in June, another £14,480.95 was spent repairing five cubic metres of damaged stone parapet and wing wall. Further work was carried out in September to repair the upstream stone parapet and wing wall, although the cost had yet to be confirmed.
Additional repairs to the pedestrian barrier section have also added to the bill. These costs totalled £320.84 in 2023, £1,494.21 in 2024 and £1,439.01 in 2025, with a further £1,569.30 spent so far in the current financial year.
Ongoing problem despite warnings
Repeated incidents became so frequent that in 2009 the council erected a warning sign telling motorists: “Ignore sat-nav. Weak bridge ahead”. Exasperated council chiefs even wrote to satellite navigation companies, urging them to update their systems with the correct information. But more than a decade later, the “wee bridge” continues to cause headaches for motorists — and costly headaches for the public purse.
Colin Park, Head of Roads, Transportation and Fleet Services, said: “Newhousemill Bridge is a listed structure with clearly signed weight and width restrictions in place to protect it and ensure its safe use. We recognise the disruption caused when the bridge has to close, but compliance with the clearly signed restrictions is essential to protect this historic structure and avoid incidents which can result in unnecessary closures.”
