Torgoyle Bridge

Torgoyle Bridge or Torgyle Bridge crosses the River Moriston near Dundreggan. It carries the A887 trunk road on a single lane, between pavements, and until recently the road for a short distance either side was also single track with passing places, although the rest of the A887 was upgraded from single track to S2 in the 1980s. The bridge approaches have also now been widened as much as possible, although not always enough for a centre line.

The current bridge consists of three stone arches and was built in 1823 by Joseph Mitchell to replace a c.1811 bridge built by Thomas Telford which was destroyed by floods in 1818. As a result, it is somewhat more elegant than Telfords bridges were, with semi-circular cutwaters rising as turrets to form buttresses at parapet level, and a string course at road level add to the appearance. There are also subtle changes in the stonework, whether by design or simply down to weathering is unclear, which enhance the structure. The bridge has been category A listed since 1971.

The current bridge was built to replace a similar 3-arch bridge built just over a decade earlier. The commission for Highland Roads and Bridges, which Telford worked for was plagues with problems of timber being floated down rivers as the cheapest form of transport. In and around the great glen, much of this timber was destined for the Caledonian Canal, for which Telford was also Chief Engineer. However, while the original bridge was destroyed by floating timber, it was only in the river due to an exceptional storm which saw the river upstream rise considerably and clear a pile of timber stacked above the expected water level, even when the river was in spate.

The bridge was hastily replaced in 1818 by a temporary timber bridge in order to keep the road open, while young Joseph Mitchell, an apprentice of Telford and son of one of his deputies, was given the job of designing the new bridge, his first major project.