Calls for Councils to engage on Mountgarrett Bridge

By Dan Walsh at Mountgarrett Bridge

The proposed one-month closure of Mountgarrett Bridge, near New Ross, for essential remedial works was raised at last Monday’s May meeting of Wexford County Council where there were calls for Kilkenny County Council to engage with Wexford County Council to discuss the matter.

Cllr John Dwyer first raised the matter and said that Kilkenny County Council had not consulted with Wexford County Council to discuss the effects on people using this busy bridge.

Cllr Michael Sheehan was critical of Kilkenny County Council’s communications with local residents and stated, “that closure of the bridge will cripple the town of New Ross.”

The matter was again raised at Wednesday’s meeting of New Ross Municipal District Council.

Cllr Sheehan said; “Essential remedial works are planned, and closure of the bridge is proposed but residents claim that nobody knew anything about it.

“The Council has called for works to be postponed until meaningful engagement with officials of both councils take place. Closure of the bridge could result in a one-hour detour for local residents,” he added.

HISTORY; Connecting counties Wexford and Kilkenny and crossing the River Barrow about 3kms from New Ross town Mountgarrett Bridge replaced a wooden bridge of 1794.

The bridge is 64 metres long and was built of reinforced concrete with a 40-foot steel opening section of the Scherzer rolling lift style supplied by John Butler & Co. of Leeds.

Construction began in 1925 and the bridge opened in 1930 at a cost of £22,500. The contractors were Hearne & Co. and Delap & Waller were consulting engineers.

Consultants from both counties had been suggesting a replacement bridge since 1917, but they could not raise the money to construct the bridge.

By 1920, the consultants were advising their councils that the old bridge was in a dangerous condition, and matters came to a head in 1921 when it was destroyed by fire.

The bridge used to open, to allow river vessels to pass through, up until the 1970s when it was struck by a barge. It has not opened since.

The steel rolling bascule bridge (another name for a drawbridge or lifting bridge) is one of only six in Ireland.

The proposed works will maximise the remaining service life of the bridge.