Survey Data
Reg No
15501001
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Technical
Original Use
Bridge
In Use As
Bridge
Date
1995 - 2000
Coordinates
305080, 122283
Date Recorded
16/06/2005
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Seven-arch bridge over river, built 1997. Series of seven segmental-profile riveted steel sections on paired reinforced concrete piers with cantilevered deck supporting tubular mild steel railings. Sited spanning River Slaney.
Appraisal
A bridge erected to designs by J.B. Barry and Partners (established 1959) of Dublin representing an important component of the civil engineering heritage of Wexford with the assembly and installation of the Italian-manufactured riveted steel sections 'in just ten weeks...believed to be the largest project of its kind [in Ireland] and the shortest contract period for the replacement of a bridge of this size in Europe' (The Irish Times 21st November 1997). NOTE: A panel records the history of Wexford Bridge dating back to the late eighteenth century and a timber bridge erected (1794-5) to designs by Lemuel Cox (1736-1806) of Boston, Massachusetts; a drawbridge erected (1856) to designs (1851) by James Barry Farrell (1810-93), County Surveyor for County Wexford (appointed 1840; retired 1891); and a prestressed concrete bridge erected (1956-9) 'by Ascon Limited' (established 1957).