Duneaton Bridge

The old Duneaton Bridge

The old Duneaton Bridge is a single arch stone bridge across the Duneaton Water, which dates back to the 1810s when Thomas Telford was tasked with upgrading the road between Carlisle and Glasgow. It now sits on an abandoned section of road, with only limited public access as the house on the east bank appears to have appropriated the old road into their garden. It is nevertheless, a notable landmark for traffic on the B7078, which follows the old line of the A74 which bypasses this old bridge in the 1960s. The bridge is fairly typical of Telfords work, with battered abutments either side of the arch and little embellishment.

The B7078 bridge

As noted above, when the A74 was dualled in this area in the 1960s, a new alignment was found, bypassing the old bridge. The new dual carriageway crosses the river further downstream, where it lies down in a dip and as such the road is carried on a substantial embankment to either side of the river. The crossing itself is a very large concrete pipe culvert, big enough to drive through, which sits some distance below the road level. This type of bridge is more common than might be thought, although few are quite so visible in the surrounding landscape. Following the opening of the motorway, the road across this bridge was reduced to a single carriageway, using the old southbound side. The northbound side was largely grassed, with a cycle track across it.

The Motorway bridge

The M74 Bridge

Some distance further downstream to the north, the M74 motorway has bypassed both of the older bridges. The valley is flatter here, allowing a less unusual solution, with the route crossing on a single span concrete structure which carries two 3 lane carriageways, hard shoulders and central reservation at a skew. A shallow embankment at the western end of the bridge allows the motorway to also cross a minor road which follows the river downstream.