New bridge for Glanworth ‘not a priority’ say council
Residents of Glanworth and the surrounding area have shown concern for their historic bridge for some time now, due to the repeated misuse of the bridge by HGVs. The narrow, mid-15th-century bridge is purported to be the oldest, longest and narrowest road bridge in use in Europe and is a point of pride for many in the locality.
Despite barriers being in place at either side restricting vehicles of a certain height from entering onto the bridge, motorists in larger vehicles continue to navigate the structure, putting it at risk. Online video footage of encounters featuring vehicles getting stuck under, damaging or ramming straight through the barriers have been shared on occasion.
SPENDING ‘CONSTRAINTS’
Recently, TheAvondhu queried Cork County Council regarding the possibility of a new bridge over the River Funcheon, asking whether the council had applied to any funding streams in the past two years and whether there are any plans for a new bridge to safeguard the existing one.
Cork County Council confirmed that a new bridge to serve the village is ‘not a priority’ and highlighted the cost of same.
“A new bridge across the River Funcheon in Glanworth is not a priority for the organisation at present. There is no funding available to advance design works and in any event, a large capital project of this magnitude would be subject to public spending code constraints,” a Cork County Council spokesperson said.
When the matter was raised in 2021 at a meeting of the Fermoy Municipal District, it was estimated that a new bridge would cost in the region of €6-€8 million.
In the past, it has been noted at council that HGVs were ‘deliberately vandalising’ the barriers in order to access the bridge, to cut down on route journey times.
In 2021 when the issue was raised, senior engineer Brendan O’Gorman stated that a more permanent solution was being sought, such as narrowing the approach to the bridge. Concerns were also raised at the time regarding the damage HGVs could be doing to the structure, as calls were made for a new bridge nearby to which such traffic could be diverted.