Railway Viaduct (2), Bleach Green Junction, Newtownabbey, Co Antrim, BT37

Railway Viaduct at Bleach Green Junction

This seven-arch reinforced-concrete viaduct carries the Belfast-Larne railway over the Three Mile Water, here known as Valentine's Glen, near Newtownabbey in County Antrim. It is approximately 120 metres long, with a further 100 metres continuing under the three southernmost arches of an adjacent larger viaduct. The structure exemplifies the utilitarian style of the London, Midland & Scottish Railway (Northern Counties Committee) and represents a distinctive feature of the local landscape.

The viaduct is constructed throughout of painted reinforced concrete, cast in situ. The seven arches are of segmental profile with banded reveals indicating the depth of the arch casting. The middle arch, which spans the actual river, is wider than the six remaining arches of equal width. It features hollow spandrels with two vertical slabs connecting its extrados either side of the crown to the underside of the deck. This central arch is flanked on each side with a pilaster that rises to parapet level, serving as a pedestrian refuge. The remaining piers are fitted with cantilevered refuges projecting from the face of each parapet. The parapets are cast with vertically fluted panels on their outside faces, with a slightly advanced string course running along their base. Both ends terminate in advanced piers. A modern footbridge now crosses the river through the middle arch.

The viaduct was built between 1931 and 1933 as part of the Greenisland Loop Scheme, the largest civil engineering project of its day in the British Isles. When the Belfast-Ballymena railway opened in 1848, the line originally ran via Greenisland to avoid the expense of constructing a massive viaduct across Valentine's Glen. This routing necessitated reversing trains between Greenisland and Antrim, adding significantly to journey time. The Loop Scheme, directed by the Northern Counties Committee's Resident Engineer W.K. Wallace, was designed to eliminate this detour and reduce journey times by 20 to 25 minutes. The overall project cost £250,000 and employed 550 men taken off social security. This bridge was constructed to carry the down line from Belfast to Larne, while the up line is carried on the original masonry bridge. A companion single-span concrete bridge carries the line over Glenville Road to the south. The section opened in January 1934.

The viaduct is functionally associated with an adjacent even larger viaduct and with three single-span bridges across Glenville Road to the south. Its scale and massing demonstrate the new technology of reinforced concrete adapted in mimicry of its masonry precedents.

Between 1999 and 2001, Translink undertook substantial repairs as part of reopening the Belfast-Antrim line, which had closed to passengers in 1978. Work included blast cleaning, concrete repairs, waterproofing and repainting. The line reopened in June 2001. The viaduct is of considerable industrial archaeological interest and is recognised for its structural system, proportion, ornamentation, plan form, setting and group value, as well as its rarity and significance to Northern Ireland and international railway engineering history.