Railway bridge over, Low Road, Newry, Co. Armagh

This railway bridge, built around 1850, carries the double-track Belfast-Dublin railway over the Low Road, providing a headroom of 3.4 metres. The bridge is of some architectural interest due to its design and quality of construction, and it holds historical associations with Sir John Macneill and William Dargan, considered the “father” of Irish railways. The bridge was built for the Dublin & Belfast Junction Railway Co and was opened in 1850, enabling full operation of the line between Belfast and Dublin after the completion of the Craigmore Viaduct in 1852.

The structure consists of a single, slightly skewed, segmental span constructed of coarsely-dressed and irregularly laid granodiorite blocks. The abutments feature tooled edges and rusticated voussoirs, while a finely dressed and chamfered string course runs through the arch at spring level, accompanied by a similarly detailed cornice just above the crown. The soffit blocks are laid orthogonally. Splayed wing walls on either side are coped with finely-dressed and chamfered blocks, terminating in square piers with pyramidal caps. A concrete blockwork parapet has been added in recent times, which has resulted in damage and subsequent repair with concrete to the middle section of the top string course and part of the spandrels. Originally, there were no parapets. It is considered of industrial archaeological interest.