Survey Data
Reg No
40852064
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Technical
Original Use
Bridge
In Use As
Bridge
Date
1945 - 1950
Coordinates
187752, 361377
Date Recorded
24/10/2007
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Single-span road bridge carrying road over River Erne/tailrace of Cathleen's Falls Hydroelectric Power Station (40852084), built 1946-7. Possibly incorporating some fabric of earlier bridge to the south end (arches now infilled), built c. 1680. Constructed of reinforced concrete with snecked stone cladding over. Segmental-headed arch having dressed stone cladding to arch and with cement rendered arch barrel. Snecked rock-faced stone cladding to spandrels and to outer faces of parapets; tooled snecked ashlar stone to inner faces of parapets having stone coping over. Carved stone memorial (40852092) to poet William Allingham to centre of east parapet. Tarmacadamed double carriageway with concrete pavement footpaths to east and west sides. Spans river Erne, linking south part and north part of Ballyshannon town.
Appraisal
This elegant mid-twentieth century bridge is an integral element of the engineering heritage of Ballyshannon. The wide (71 foot) single-span is aesthetically pleasing, and is of technical merit on account of its construction in reinforced concrete. This bridge was originally constructed in 1946/7 to replace an important fourteen arch bridge, built c. 1680 and widened c. 1850, that was demolished as part of the Cathleen’s Falls Hydroelectric Scheme (see 40852084). Five arches at the north end of this earlier bridge were demolished to accommodate the tailrace of this scheme. The surviving arches to the south end of the bridge were apparently later infilled and the road was subsequently widened. The stone for the cladding apparently came from demolished buildings in the Ballyshannon area (O’Keefe and Simington 1991), including from the Rock Barracks to the south side of the town. It is likely that much of the fabric of the earlier bridge was also reused to clad the present bridge. The main contractors involved in the construction of the new bridge were McLoughlin and Harvey. The fine stone memorial monument (40852092) to the east parapet adds an element of artistic interest to this structure. This bridge is an important crossing point of the River Erne, and an landmark feature in the townscape of Ballyshannon.