Foot bridge in Ardun

Single-arch reinforced concrete footbridge, built c.1911, comprising concrete-framed segmental arch with open spandrels of lateral supports, with concrete balustrade over having rounded copings. Pedestrian route over the narrowest point between Trá na Cruite [Cruit Strand] and Trá an Chéididh [Keadew Strand] bridging An Chruit [Cruit Island] and the mainland of Dún na nGall [County Donegal]

This impressive, early reinforced concrete bridge is located in a dramatic setting and was built to provide pedestrian access to An Chruit [Cruit Island]. It was designed by the engineering firm of L.G. Mouchel & Partners of Westminster for the Congested Districts Board. The Congested Districts Board were actively building amenities such as piers, social housing, and factories in this part of Donegal at the turn of the twentieth century. It was built using the pioneering Hennibique concrete reinforcement technique. The deck is carried on vertical members brought down to a solid arch, and it is unusual in that it tapers in plan, with the deck rising towards the centre. Reinforced concrete was used in Ireland in its modern form from the very late nineteenth century, making this bridge one of the earliest surviving reinforced concrete structures in Ireland.