Pont Briwet

About

Pont Briwet refers to the road and railway bridges that cross the River Dwyryd, near Penrhyndeudraeth, Gwynedd in North Wales. The first bridge was a Victorian road and railway viaduct that was constructed entirely from timber by the Cambrian Railways company. Although it was recognised as being a Grade II listed structure, a result of it being an increasingly rare example of a surviving 19th-century wooden road and railway viaduct, the condition of the bridge had deteriorated over time and by the 21st century was posing regular and considerable inconvenience to both road and rail traffic.

Due to the operational impact of the old bridge, it was decided to build a replacement structure alongside as a joint project between the Welsh government and national rail infrastructure company Network Rail to upgrade the route. Despite plans to retain the old bridge for pedestrian traffic, it was determined that it had been further weakened and rendered structurally unsafe by the piling performed to establish the new bridge's foundations, resulting in its immediate closure in December 2013 and its demolition during the following year. The new Pont Briwet crosses the Dwyryd on the same alignment...