Survey Data
Reg No
40904128
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Technical
Original Use
Bridge
In Use As
Bridge
Date
1900 - 1905
Coordinates
178136, 416410
Date Recorded
07/04/2014
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Single-arch railway bridge, built c.1903, carrying road over former Letterkenny to Burtonport narrow gauge railway line. Squared and snecked rusticated pink granite walls and parapets with rusticated flat copings. Splayed squared and snecked rusticated abutments flanking segmental arch of red brick voussoirs on rusticated triangular springer stones.
Appraisal
This railway bridge is an important component of the civil engineering legacy of Donegal and serves as a reminder of the expansion of communication and transport networks in Ireland in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Built to carry the Letterkenny to Burtonport railway extension, which opened in 1903 and closed in 1947, it remains an attractive feature in the landscape. Its architectural merit is emphasized by the rusticated stonework that contrasts with the elegant sweep of the arch and the red brick voussoirs.