The Cut
| The Cut | |||
| Location Map ( geo) | |||
_-_Geograph_-_877689.jpg) | |||
| The Cut in 1980, following the removal of the trees. | |||
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| Location | |||
| Banbridge | |||
| County | |||
| Down | |||
| Highway Authority | |||
| DfI Roads | |||
| Junction Type | |||
| Diamond | |||
| Opening Date | |||
| 1834 | |||
| Roads Joined | |||
| A26 • B10 | |||
The Cut is an early Diamond interchange in Banbridge, County Down. It opened in 1834 and is reputedly the earliest example of a purpose-built grade-separated junction in the world, although The Dry Arch in Herefordshire is belived to be older still.
The bridge that crosses the Cut is known as the Downshire Bridge, and sometimes as Jingler's Bridge (after a lady called the Lurgan Jingler, who had an apple stall at the location in the 1800s)[1].
The main route underneath was formerly the A1, but was reclassified as part of the A26 following the opening of the Banbridge bypass. The cutting was constructed to provide easier passage for horse drawn vehicles travelling between Belfast and Dublin.
The underpass has a height restriction of 3.5m and carries two traffic lanes.
Originally there were four poplar trees, one at each end of the two retaining walls. They were diseased and had just been felled in August 1980.
Routes
| Route | To | Notes |
| Dublin, Dundalk (A1) | ||
| Lurgan; Belfast (A1) | ||
| Rathfriland | ||
| Scarva |
References
| The Cut | ||
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