Overview
Craigavon Bridge is the only road bridge in Ireland built with two decks, one stacked above the other – and the lower one was laid down for trains, not cars. It crosses the River Foyle at the southern end of Derry’s three bridges, 275 metres of riveted 1930s steel carrying the A2 on its upper level and a second carriageway below. Completed in 1933 and named after James Craig, the first Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, it links the Cityside and Waterside and carries a stretch of the Foyle Greenway. Be clear about what it is, though: this is a working traffic bridge, not a promenade. For a river stroll with a view, the Peace Bridge downstream is the nicer walk; come to Craigavon for the history and the engineering.
History and engineering
Three crossings have stood on this spot. The first was a wooden bridge – the Earl Hervey Bridge, built by the American engineer Lemuel Cox between 1789 and 1791, with a drawbridge to protect Strabane’s navigation rights on the river. It was replaced in 1863 by the steel Carlisle Bridge, and it was that second bridge, not the first, that met the famous end: it was eventually destroyed by an ice flow driving down the Foyle, the ‘iceberg’ of local retelling. The present Craigavon Bridge, designed by City Architect Matthew A. Robinson and built through the late 1920s, opened in 1933.
What makes it unusual is the lower deck. It was engineered for freight trains, tying together Derry’s separate railway networks and running goods south to Donegal, while road traffic ran above. When the railway closed in 1968 the lower deck was converted to carry road traffic, and Craigavon became the double-deck road bridge you cross today.
The bridge has a place in the city’s recent history too. On 3 July 1968, the Derry Housing Action Committee staged a sit-down protest on the newly opened lower deck, one of the early flashpoints of the civil rights movement over housing discrimination.
What to look for
Hands Across the Divide
At the west end, in Carlisle Square, two bronze figures reach toward each other across a gap – Hands Across the Divide, by Derry sculptor Maurice Harron, unveiled in 1992. It reads as a statement of reconciliation, and it’s the single thing most people photograph here. If you look at one thing on the bridge, make it this.
Railway station murals
At each end of the bridge, stylised silhouette murals show the old railway stations, added to keep the industrial past visible after the freight lines came out in 1968. They’re easy to miss if you’re only looking up at the steel.
The steelwork and the river
The riveted ribs and trusses are early-20th-century engineering in plain sight from the footways. Below, the Foyle runs hard – one of the faster rivers in Europe – and the movement is most obvious from the lower deck, closer to the water.
Walking and cycling
The footways tie into Derry’s riverside path network, so the bridge slots easily into a walk or cycle. The upper deck has footways on both sides; the lower deck has a central path. Both connect to promenades running upstream to the Foyle Bridge and down toward the city centre – past the Guildhall, Queen’s Quay and Bay Road Park on the Cityside, and Ebrington, St Columb’s Park and the Waterside Greenway across the river. For cyclists it’s a traffic-free link on the Foyle Greenway. It’s largely flat, with a slight gradient on the lower deck.
Practical information
Craigavon Bridge is a public road crossing, open at all hours with nothing to pay. Pedestrians and cyclists share the footways, which are wide enough for two-way use but get busy at the morning and evening commute.
Getting there
- Walking: 15 to 25 minutes from the city centre, past the Guildhall and the City Walls.
- Bus: local routes (601, 602 and others) run frequently between the centre and stops on both banks; journeys are 10 to 20 minutes, fares roughly £2 to £4.
- Cycling: part of the traffic-free Foyle Greenway.
- Parking: several car parks near the city centre and around the Foyle Bridge.
Accessibility The upper-deck footways are level and fine for pushchairs or light mobility aids. The lower-deck footway has a slight gradient that may be harder going for wheelchair users, though the riverside paths on both banks are generally accessible.
Photography Early and late light picks out the steel ribs and throws long reflections on the Foyle; after dark the bridge is lit and reads as a sharp silhouette, so a tripod helps for long exposures. For the full span, shoot from Ebrington Square on the Waterside; for the bronze figures, frame them from the Cityside with the river and skyline behind.
Cross on the lower deck at least once. It’s the only place in Ireland you’ll walk a road bridge with a road bridge over your head, and about as close to the Foyle as you’ll get without a boat.