St Michaels Bridge carries the A756 across the River Nith in Dumfries. The bridge was built in 1927 to provide a new route across the south side of the town centre, thus removing some traffic from the A75 which crossed the towns Old Bridge further north, which at the time was the only road bridge in the town. It was not until the Dumfries Bypass opened that the town centre was finally relieved of the congestion trying to squeeze across these two bridges. The bridge was substantially designed in order to withstand the large spates that periodically flood down the Nith, causing flooding in and around Dumfries.
The bridge is a concrete arch structure with four arches all faced in red sandstone. Three of the arches span the river, with two substantial piers in the river bed, while the fourth is much smaller and spans Welldale, a residential street on the west bank. The two piers in the river are split, with cross arches under the road deck. They are also protected by triangular cutwaters, built from a contrasting colour of stone, and almost looking like later additions. Crests sit in the spandrels above the cutwaters. The whole structure is ramped, with a notable incline from the east bank to the west, which naturally sits higher. Considering the age of the bridge, and the reasons behind its construction, it carries a surprisingly narrow single carriageway road, albeit with wide pavements between the stone parapets. These parapets are topped with metal lamp columns at each corner and also over the piers between the land arch and river arches on the west bank.
