Scarva Bridge, Station Road, Scarva, Craigavon, Co Armagh, BT63

Scarva Bridge is a 19th-century single-span masonry road bridge carrying a minor road over the Newry Canal at Scarva, on Station Road at the junction with Main Street.

The bridge was constructed in two phases. The original structure was built during the early 1800s, probably by John Brownrigg between 1800 and 1811 as part of a major refurbishment programme of the Newry Canal overseen by the Directors General of Inland Navigation. This replaced an earlier two-arched bridge that had stood at this location (recorded in Walter Harris's 1744 account of the canal). The original single-arched bridge was later widened on its north side by approximately half as much again during the 19th century, presumably to accommodate increasing road traffic, rather than being replaced entirely with a girder structure.

Both phases of construction employ random rubble blackstone with a clear discontinuity visible in the stonework across the soffit and down the abutments. The arch is of segmental span. On the south face, the quoins and voussoirs are of split rubble, while on the north face they comprise dressed granite blocks with a keystone in the arch ring. Both parapets are coped with dressed granite blocks of half-round section. The south parapet curves around and down at its west end to follow the canal bank for a short distance and has been truncated at its east end. The north parapet curves out briefly at both ends. The deck carries two traffic speed signs at its west end and a street light at the southeast.

Adjacent to Scarva Bridge is a second single-span bridge carrying the same minor road over a stream that runs parallel to the Newry Canal. This bridge is also constructed of rubble stone with a segmental arch and rubble stone parapets.

A single-span steel girder footbridge has been erected immediately south of Scarva Bridge, supported on concrete abutments faced with rubble masonry. Its balustrades feature glazed panels to preserve views of the bridge from the south. The approach wall to the original bridge has been cut through to provide access to the west end of the footbridge. An electricity cable is carried under its deck. The footbridge was designed by McAdam Stewart Architects of Banbridge, fabricated off-site, and installed in September 2011.

The bridge is sited opposite St Matthews Parish Hall. The Ulster Way, a long-distance pedestrian footpath, now runs along the towpath which rises to road level rather than passing through the bridge.

The Newry Canal was constructed between 1730 and 1742 to carry coal from Coalisland to Newry and is the earliest summit-level canal in Britain and Ireland. After 1801, the Directors General of Inland Navigation undertook a major refurbishment programme under John Brownrigg's oversight lasting until 1811, involving repairs to the banks, locks and bridges. The Newry Canal Company took over operations in 1829 but faced increasing competition from the Belfast to Newry railway which opened in 1852. The canal was officially abandoned in 1936. Brownrigg also constructed a basin and quay to the north of the bridge on the right bank, now a visitors' centre. The bridge appears on all Ordnance Survey maps from 1834 onwards.