New Ross Bridge crosses the River Barrow; close to the border between County Kilkenny and County Wexford. It forms a part of the N25, which is a national primary road that runs from County Cork to the Rosslare Europort in Wexford.
Above: A photograph of New Ross Bridge. The area on the opposite side of the bridge is a village called Rosbercon. Originally, Rosbercon was a part of County Kilkenny. However, it was later moved to County Wexford for administrative purposes. The large building in the distance is an apartment complex called Rosbercon Court. This photograph was taken in February of 2015.
Since the town’s establishment back in the 13th Century, New Ross has had several bridges. However, these bridges either collapsed or were taken down and replaced because of structural concerns.
On the 19th of January, 1867, it was reported that the bridge at New Ross had collapsed and that it had been carried away by ‘a flood and a great flow of ice.’
At a Wexford County Council meeting on the 7th of September, 1959, it was revealed that the bridge was suffering from an alarming amount of corrosion. Previously, it had been decided to temporarily increase the maximum weight per vehicle from 10 tonnes to 15 tonnes. However, after this trial period had come to an end, a consultant engineer discovered that the bridge was in a bad condition and that it would need to be reconstructed. Because of the urgency of the matter, the engineer’s report was immediately forwarded on to the Department of Local Government.
