A two-lane causeway over the South Ford between Benbecula and South Uist, the South Ford Causeway is part of a network of bridges and causeways which connect the islands in the Outer Hebrides. It was opened on the 18th November 1982 by National Mod gold-medallist Mairi Macinnes from North Boisdale. Originally the crossing had to be made over the dangerous and shifting sands of the South Ford, although the causeway replaced the single-lane South Ford Bridge (or O'Regan's Bridge, Gael: Drochaid O'Regan) which was completed in 1942 and named in honour of a local priest who had long campaigned for its construction. This 82-span concrete bridge, more than 800m (875 yards) in length, had been built, at least in part, to provide access to the air base on Benbecula. By the late 1970s the poor condition of the bridge brought the proposal for its replacement by a short bridge and a causeway which, together, measure almost a half-mile (1 km) and cross between Creagorry (Benbecula) and Carnan (South Uist).
The £2.2 million scheme was funded by the Scottish Office and the Western Isles Council. It was executed by contractors Edmund Nuttall Ltd. with consulting engineers Blyth and Blyth, who had been responsible for the design of the South Ford Bridge 40 years earlier.
