Barmouth Bridge (), or Barmouth Viaduct (), is a Grade II* listed single-track wooden railway viaduct across the estuary of the River Mawddach near Barmouth, Wales. It is long and carries the Cambrian Line. It is the longest timber viaduct in Wales and one of the oldest in regular use in Britain.
Barmouth Bridge was designed by and constructed for the Aberystwith and Welsh Coast Railway on its line between Aberystwyth and Pwllheli. Work was authorised in 1861 and commenced in 1864. On 10 October 1867, the completed bridge was officially opened. Following the discovery of severe corrosion on underwater sections of ironwork, an intensive restoration programme was performed between December 1899 and late 1902. By 1980, the viaduct was under attack by marine woodworm, which led to concerns that it would have to be closed and demolished. Because of its value to tourism, it was repaired between 1985 and 1986, a closure of six months; a weight restriction and ban on locomotive-hauled trains were also introduced. These restrictions have been relaxed since 2005.
The viaduct, between and stations in Gwynedd, is used by rail, cyclists, motorcyclists and pedestrians and is part of the National Cycle Route 8. There is no provision for road traffic. Tolls were collected for foot and cycle traffic up to 2013, but this has been voluntary since 2017.
To allow the passage of tall ships, the bridge originally incorporated a drawbridge, which was replaced by a swing bridge between 1899 and 1902. When the viaduct was refurbished again between 2020 and 2023, the swing-bridge mechanisms were not restored.
Location
thumb|left|From 1902 until 2023, the north end of the crossing had a swing-bridge section to allow tall ships to pass.
Barmouth Bridge crosses the estuary of the Afon Mawddach between Barmouth to the north and Morfa Mawddach near Arthog on the south. It lies within both a Site of Special Scientific Interest and the Snowdonia National Park. The Cambrian Coast Line was operated by Arriva Trains Wales until 2018, and is now operated by Transport for Wales Rail, which provides connecting services north to and east to , and .
The timber section of the bridge is long, and is made up of 113 wooden trestles, each about span, supported by cast iron piers. It is one of the longest timber viaducts standing in Britain,
Most of the bridge is built on top of a gravel bed, covered by shifting sand. The northern end of the viaduct, where the swing bridge is located, is next to Figle Fawr, a rock at the base of the Rhinogydd mountains. Water passing through the channel flows at up to . The first two spans at this end are built on the rock on cast iron cylindrical piers.
The nearest road across the Afon Mawddach is the toll bridge at Penmaenpool about upstream, which can carry vehicles up to . Heavier vehicles must use the first public road bridge, at Dolgellau, about from Barmouth.
Pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists can cross the estuary via the footbridge on the bridge's eastern side. Since 1996, the footbridge has been part of National Cycle Route 8 linking Cardiff and Holyhead. The footbridge is owned by Network Rail, and Gwynedd Council contributes 10 per cent of its annual maintenance cost in exchange for a licence to use it.
thumb|640px|centre|The viaduct spans the Mawddach estuary between Barmouth (left) and Morfa Mawddach station
History
Background and construction
thumb|Illustration of the estuary and viaduct (with wooden drawbridge section on the left), 1869
A bridge across the Mawddach Estuary at Barmouth was proposed by the Aberystwith and Welsh Coast Railway, <!-- Anglicised place name spellings were used during most of the history of the line, and are used here for consistency. --> which constructed a line between Aberystwyth and Pwllheli.
From 3 June 1867, the viaduct was opened for horse-drawn carriages to cross, and on 10 October, the bridge was officially opened, and steam-hauled services started using the track.
In 1946, the bridge was nearly destroyed after a live naval mine was washed ashore close to it during stormy weather. According to reports, the mine had swept past one of the pillars, but did not detonate and the bridge escaped unscathed.
thumb|left|A train approaching Barmouth after crossing the bridge, 1964
Following the Beeching cuts of the 1960s, passenger train services through Barmouth declined after the closure of the Ruabon to Barmouth line via Llangollen and Dolgellau in 1965, causing all traffic to take the longer and slower route from Shrewsbury via Machynlleth and . The old trackbed from Morfa Mawddach railway station to Dolgellau now forms the Mawddach Trail, a walking and cycle trail.
By 1980, the bridge's 500 timber trestle piles were under attack from marine woodworm at river bed level and the resulting damage was serious enough to threaten its closure. British Rail divers discovered that woodworm had eaten into 69 of the supporting pillars and estimated that it would cost around £2.5 million to repair. On 13 October 1980, the viaduct was temporarily closed to rail traffic, Gwynedd County Council opposed permanently closing the bridge as 40 per cent of all tourism in the area was rail-related. and £4.6 million was spent on signalling improvements upon the line. Rail services resumed when the viaduct reopened in April 1986.
In March 2013, the Barmouth Viaduct Access Group (B-VAG), was established to investigate an alternative route from the town centre to the bridge, as the walkway is steep, narrow, and unsuitable for pushchairs or wheelchairs. In June, the bridge toll was removed after the collectors left and were not replaced. The council is undecided as to how to pay for maintenance costs, which were £39,405 for the year. This is problematic as revenue from tolls is insufficient to cover the council's share of costs, and there is no budget to employ staff to collect payments.
Gwynedd Council proposed closing the bridge to pedestrians and cyclists for cost reasons, as it needed to find £9 million of savings by April 2016. Closing the bridge is one of over 100 cost saving options totalling £13 million that were put to a public consultation in autumn 2015. The council pays Network Rail £30,800 per year towards maintenance costs. A petition calling on the council to "cease considerations of closing this much loved walking and cycling route" attracted 20,000 signatures in a week. In February 2016, it was reported that the bridge would not close.
On 4 October 2016, Barmouth Bridge was closed to traffic for a week following a fire on the structure. The following day, Liz Saville Roberts MP called for its speedy renovation as a matter of urgency.
thumb|left|View of the bridge from the northwest in 2019
The viaduct celebrated its 150th anniversary in October 2017 with a fireworks display and special charter trains were run. The same month, Bill Kelly, the chief operating officer of Network Rail Wales, spoke of unapproved ambitions to spend around £20 million to secure the long-term future of Barmouth Bridge between 2019 and 2024. In late 2017, an "honesty toll" of £1 for adults and 50p for children was introduced with a troll mascot, and the old toll house rebranded as a "troll house".
In December 2018, it was reported that the future of the bridge was once again in doubt, but a £25 million 3-year restoration project was announced by Network Rail in May 2020. The next two of the three planned closures were scheduled for September to December 2021 and October to December 2022. The work was completed and the track reopened after a three-month closure on 2 December 2023, with a formal opening ceremony on the following Friday attended by Wales Office minister Fay Jones, Senedd member Joyce Watson, the mayor of Barmouth and representatives of Network Rail and their engineering contractors.
See also
- List of bridges in Wales
- Pont Briwet, a former 19th-century timber viaduct built by the Aberystwith and Welsh Coast Railway.