Betws Garmon Road Bridge
| Betws Garmon Road Bridge | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type | Bridge | ||||||||
| Status | In use | ||||||||
| Construction No. | OB 53 | ||||||||
| Operational No. | OB 31.74 | ||||||||
| Route Navigator | |||||||||
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| Stations | Locations | Bridges | Tunnels | Map | |||||||||
Betws Garmon Road Bridge carries the A4085 Road over the Welsh Highland Railway.
This bridge was originally built with iron beams from de Winton of Caernarfon. There were two longitudinal beams with shorter cross-beams, having brick jack arches and iron tie rods built on them. The structure was similar to the Rhostryfan village bridge on the Bryngwyn Branch, and to the old Rhiw Plas bridge on the FR.
By 2000, the tie rods had corroded, as had the cross-beams, and the bridge had been subject to a weight restriction for some years. During Phase 3 Gwynedd Council carried out a major rebuilding and improvement programme on the bridge over 12 months in 2001-2. It was widened with a new stone-clad concrete structure on the Waunfawr side, and a matching new deck was placed over the original abutments on the Bryn Gloch side; the widening removed a pinch point in the road and added pavements, but no work was done to improve the nearby road bridge over the river, also known as Pont Betws. The rebuilt structure was to the new WHR loading gauge, allowing for 10ft 6in NGG16 Garratts. At a late stage it was discovered that K1 is 10ft 9in high, so it was not possible to cant the rails for the curve under this bridge, which in turn causes a permanent speed restriction to 15mph where it might otherwise have been 25 mph. One of the original de Winton beams has been re-erected as an ornamental facia plate; the other (also painted for re-erection) remains lying in the grass nearby.