Railway Bridge, Glenville Road, Newtownabbey, Co Antrim, BT37

Railway Bridge, Glenville Road

This railway bridge exemplifies the utilitarian style of the London, Midland & Scottish Railway (Northern Counties Committee), or LMS (NCC). Built in 1933, it carries the Larne-Belfast railway line over Glenville Road and two footpaths, one of which is raised. Although modest in scale, its significance is greatly enhanced by its association with the Greenisland Loop Scheme, a major civil engineering project of the 1930s that provided much-needed employment during its construction.

The bridge is a single-span concrete structure of skew profile, built entirely in reinforced concrete cast in situ and painted throughout. The arch displays a three-centred profile with a banded reveal of shallow segmental character. The parapets are recessed with rectangular panels and carry the date 1933 on their outside faces. The sloping wing walls on the east side feature banded rustication with slightly advanced copings. The bank retaining walls on the west side, similarly detailed, merge with those of the adjacent bridge HB21/10/001D. Restricted-headroom warning signs (11'6" and 3.5m) are attached to the east face.

This bridge forms part of an uncommon group of original and unaltered concrete structures. It sits in very close proximity to two other distinctive bridges (HB21/10/001D and HB21/10/001E), all significant features of Glenville Road. It also has functional association and group value with two viaducts at Bleach Green Junction to the north (HB21/10/001A and HB21/10/001B).

The Greenisland Loop Scheme was initiated in the early 1930s by the Northern Counties Committee to construct a viaduct across Valentine's Glen, eliminating the original detour via Greenisland required when the Belfast-Ballymena railway opened in 1848. That earlier route necessitated reversing trains between Greenisland and Antrim, adding significantly to journey times. The new scheme entailed construction of this and four other bridges at Whiteabbey and four en route to Monkstown. Directed by NCC Resident Engineer W.K. Wallace, the project cost £250,000 (approximately £12 million in contemporary values) and provided employment for 550 men removed from social security. The scheme opened in January 1934, though this particular bridge was completed in 1933 for the up line from Larne to Belfast. The original masonry bridge carrying the same line across the glen survives a short distance to the north (HB21/10/002).

In 1999, Translink undertook comprehensive repairs as part of reopening the Belfast-Antrim line, which had closed to passenger traffic in 1978. The work included blast cleaning, concrete repairs, waterproofing, and repainting. The line reopened in June 2001.