Lagan Viaduct

The Lagan Viaduct is a railway and pedestrian bridge across the River Lagan in Belfast, slightly north of Belfast Central railway station.[1] The next bridge upstream is the Albert Bridge, whilst the next downstream is Queen's Bridge.

Next crossing upstream River Lagan Next crossing downstream
Albert Bridge  Lagan Viaduct Queen's Bridge 
The Lagan Viaduct, looking towards Central station.

Original bridge

From 1875 to 1965, a more rudimentary structure existed in the same location. Built by the Belfast Central Railway as part of its line which linked the Great Northern Railway and the Belfast and County Down Railway, it was a single track eight-span wooden bridge.[2] Heavier locomotives were banned from crossing it, and by the time it was closed by the Ulster Transport Authority in 1965, it had earned the nickname, ''The Lagan Shaky Bridge''. It was subsequently demolished shortly after closure.[3]

Current bridge

The current structure was opened by Northern Ireland Railways in 1976. It is double track,[4] supported by four piers. Immediately to the north of the viaduct is Lagan Junction, where the Bangor line and Larne/Derry lines diverge at a level junction, with the latter veering to the left and crossing the Lagan again over the Dargan Bridge. On the downstream side of the bridge is a pedestrian walkway, linking Laganbank Road, which the railway part of the bridge crosses[5] and Laganview Court.

  • A train crossing the viaduct.
  • The viaduct as seen from East Bridge Street.

References
  1. "Bridge Database, pg7".
  2. "Geograph:: Original Shaky Bridge (C) The Carlisle Kid". www.geograph.org.uk. Retrieved 2017-07-10.
  3. "Geograph:: The Lagan railway bridge, Belfast (May... (C) Albert Bridge". www.geograph.ie. Retrieved 2017-07-10.
  4. "NIR Network Statement 2018, Section 3.3.1.1 Track Typologies" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-08-20. Retrieved 2017-07-18.
  5. "Geograph:: The Laganbank Road railway bridge,... (C) Albert Bridge". www.geograph.org.uk. Retrieved 2017-07-18.
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