page_title: Pont Briwet
section_title: Replacement
hierarchical_section_title: Pont Briwet / History / Replacement
caption_attribution_description: English: A train heading south crossing the now fully operational bridge.
context_page_description: Pont Briwet refers to the road and railway bridges that cross the River Dwyryd, near Penrhyndeudraeth, Gwynedd in North Wales. The first bridge was a Victorian road and railway viaduct that was constructed entirely from timber by the Cambrian Railways company. Although it was recognised as being a Grade II listed structure, a result of it being an increasingly rare example of a surviving 19th-century wooden road and railway viaduct, the condition of the bridge had deteriorated over time and by the 21st century was posing regular and considerable inconvenience to both road and rail traffic.
  Due to the operational impact of the old bridge, it was decided to build a replacement structure alongside as a joint project between the Welsh government and national rail infrastructure company Network Rail to upgrade the route. Despite plans to retain the old bridge for pedestrian traffic, it was determined that it had been further weakened and rendered structurally unsafe by the piling performed to establish the new bridge's foundations, resulting in its immediate closure in December 2013 and its demolition during the following year.
context_section_description: Planning
  During July 2010, the Welsh Assembly Government announced the launch of a £20 million joint project with national rail infrastructure company Network Rail that intended to produce a new structure to replace the existing bridge by 2013. At the time, it was stated that the old bridge was to be retained as a result of its listed status; following the opening of the new bridge, it was intended that it would be transformed into a pedestrian walkway. However, soon after the commencement of work on the new structure, approval was granted for the old viaduct's demolition during February 2012.
  The new Pont Briwet would carry the single-track railway plus a two-lane carriageway and a 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) combined cycleway and footpath. The road's speed limit would be raised to 40 mph (64 km/h) and toll charges abolished. Although the road and rail bridges share the same pillars, like the original viaduct, the superstructures of the new crossings would be separate. Planners also said that, apart from a four-week period in which work would be undertaken to relocate electrical cabling, the old viaduct would remain open throughout the works.
  Construction
  During March 2013, work commenced upon the construction of the new bridge. However, in November 2013, it was announced that the existing wooden bridge had been found to have been affected by the piling activity performed to produce the new bridge's foundations. The old bridge was declared structurally unsafe and closed to all traffic during December 2013. The closure necessitated an 8-mile diversion via Maentwrog for road users and rail services were terminated at Harlech, closing the 22 miles (35 km) line to Pwllheli via Porthmadog. A new temporary road bridge was due to be in place by Spring 2014, but this plan was shelved by Gwynedd County Council in favour of a controlled traffic management system on the A496 between Maentwrog and Llandecwyn because of safety fears related to increased traffic on the A496.
  Completion
  On 1 September 2014, the new rail viaduct was opened for services between Harlech and Pwllheli. However, work continued into the following year on the accompanying roadway; progress on its construction had been delayed by difficulty in the relocation of electricity cables and a water main that previously crossed the old bridge. After two years of work and some significant delays, the road crossing was finally opened to traffic in the summer of 2015.
caption: Completed Pont Briwet rail crossing
exif: {"Image ImageWidth": "5472", "Image ImageLength": "3648", "Image BitsPerSample": "920", "Image Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image DateTime": "2015:08:18 10:17:21", "Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon EOS 6D", "Image Software": "PaintShop Pro 16.00", "Image Artist": "Archie Harris", "Image Copyright": "archie.harris13@gmail.com", "Image InterColorProfile": "[]", "Image ExifOffset": "218", "GPS GPSVersionID": "[2, 3, 0, 0]", "GPS GPSLatitudeRef": "N", "GPS GPSLatitude": "[52, 277229/5000, 0]", "GPS GPSLongitudeRef": "W", "GPS GPSLongitude": "[4, 33319/10000, 0]", "GPS GPSAltitudeRef": "0", "GPS GPSAltitude": "91/5", "GPS GPSTimeStamp": "[9, 15, 993/1000]", "GPS GPSSatellites": "11", "GPS GPSStatus": "A", "GPS GPSMeasureMode": "3", "GPS GPSDOP": "24/5", "GPS GPSMapDatum": "WGS-84", "GPS GPSDate": "2015:08:18", "Image GPSInfo": "668", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "11995", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "6229", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0230", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "2000", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1336", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2015:08:18 10:17:21", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2015:08:18 10:17:21", "EXIF SubSecTime": "98", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "98", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "98", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/1000", "EXIF FNumber": "8", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Aperture Priority", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "400", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "10", "EXIF ApertureValue": "6", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "28", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "1368000/359", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "912000/239", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "2", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF SensitivityType": "Recommended Exposure Index", "EXIF RecommendedExposureIndex": "400", "EXIF CameraOwnerName": "", "EXIF BodySerialNumber": "143028000494", "EXIF LensSpecification": "[24, 105, 0, 0]", "EXIF LensModel": "EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM", "EXIF LensSerialNumber": "000045e84a"}