Historic County Roscommon bridge in need of urgent repair

Tenders are being sought for urgent, essential works on one of the county’s most historic bridges.

Major defects have been found in the bridge which need to be dealt with “as soon as possible”.

On the state’s tendering website, e-Tenders, Roscommon County Council said it intends to appoint a contractor to undertake the rehabilitation of Castlestrange Bridge, an 18th-Century, nine-span masonry road bridge spanning the River Suck. It is located 2kms north of Athleague.

The proposed works will include, but are not limited to the following: site clearance/preparation; installing temporary works; mortar repointing; parapet coping repairs; masonry repairs; grouting of arch spans; stone pitching and scour repair work; and pier cutwater repair.

The estimated value of the tender is €350,000, excluding VAT.

According to documents uploaded to the site, condition surveys were carried out by consultants in January of this year and major defects in the bridge were discovered.

It added that the “main risk” to bridge users was the collapse of the retaining wall, caused by vegetation growing throughout the bridge.

The report identified three major defects – the collapse of a retaining wall; large cracks in the bridge wall; and tilting and bulging in the retaining wall.

“Following de-vegetation of the bridge structure, multiple defects were found further to defects identified before de-vegetation,” the report said.

“The proposed repair strategy for the collapsed section of retaining wall entails the reconstruction of the collapsed section utilising existing masonry, and potential construction of buttresses to address the bridge's tilt and stability issues.

“To ensure structural integrity, loose mortar will be removed by raking out, followed by mortar bedding and pointing to fill gaps between the masonry,” the report said. “All masonry replacement and mortar pointing work should be carried out in accordance with relevant specifications.

“Major defects outlined in the report are considered as significant issues and should be addressed as soon as possible. However, given the bridge's protected status as an archaeological monument under the Records of Monuments and Places, any emergency repair works must be integrated into the main contract works for the associated approval processes to take place. All repair recommendations will require approval by a qualified archaeologist before the commencement of works.” 

The tender was published on August 22nd and the deadline for submissions is September 13th.