Waterloo Bridge, Betws-y-Coed

Waterloo Bridge (Welsh: Pont Waterloo) is an early cast iron bridge, spanning the River Conwy at Betws-y-Coed, in Conwy county borough, north-west Wales.

A view of the Waterloo Bridge c.1815
This article is about the bridge at Betws-y-Coed. For other uses, see Waterloo Bridge (disambiguation).

Waterloo Bridge
Coordinates53.0852°N 3.7953°W / 53.0852; -3.7953
CarriesMotor vehicles (2 lanes)
Pedestrians
CrossesRiver Conwy
LocaleBetws-y-Coed
Characteristics
DesignArch bridge
MaterialCast iron
Longest span32 metres (105 ft)[1]
No. of spans1
History
DesignerThomas Telford
Construction end1815
Location

The bridge is located about half a mile south-east of the village. It was built by the civil engineer Thomas Telford. An inscription on the arch records that it was constructed in the year of the Battle of Waterloo, but although designed and constructed in 1815, its erection was not completed until the following year.[2] It was raised as part of building the road from London to Holyhead (now the A5). The bridge is made wholly from cast iron, apart from the stone bastions, and was only the seventh such bridge to be built.

In 1923, the bridge's masonry abutments were refurbished, and its superstructure was strengthened by encasing the inner three ribs in concrete. A 7 in (180 mm) reinforced cantilevered concrete deck was also added, which provided extra space for new footways; the cast iron parapet railings were re-erected on the outside of the new footways.[1]

In 1978, a new 10 in (250 mm) reinforced concrete deck was added and the masonry abutments were also strengthened.[1]

In May 1996, the bridge was Grade I listed as "a highly important and imaginatively-designed iron road bridge by Thomas Telford, engineer, a significant example of early iron technology".[2]

See also

References
  1. Engineering Timelines. "Waterloo Bridge". Retrieved 1 September 2011.
  2. "Waterloo Bridge - A Grade I Listed Building in Betws-y-Coed, Conwy". British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  • Quartermaine et al. (2003) Thomas Telford's Holyhead Road: The A5 in North Wales, Council for British Archaeology ISBN 978-1-902771-34-2
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