Pont ar Dyfi, Wales, UK

Pont ar Dyfi (English: Bridge on the Dovey), also known as the Machynlleth Bridge or (in grammatically correct Welsh) Pont ar Ddyfi, is a road bridge carrying the A487 road across the River Dyfi north of Machynlleth, Powys, Wales. It is described as “one of the finest bridges in Montgomeryshire” by the Gwynedd Archaeological Trust.

History and Description

The bridge was initially a timber bridge, built in 1533 using £6 13s 4d given by London merchant Geoffry Hughes. It was rebuilt in stone in 1681 and subsequently rebuilt again in 1805. The bridge is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and received a Grade II* heritage listing in 1952.

The present day bridge carries the A487 road across the River Dyfi between Machynlleth (Powys) and the Corris community (Gwynedd). At 5.5 metres in width and 64 metres in length, the bridge has five arches, with the two arches at the Machynlleth end reinforced with modern steelwork.

Future

In 2011 a report was drawn up recommending the bridge was replaced or widened because of its strategic importance, having at the moment low parapets that were unsafe, a lack of footways and having been repeatedly damaged by motor vehicles because of its poor sight lines. The recommendations were dismissed in favour of looking at options for a new bridge at a different location.

On 19 May 2017 the Welsh government published a statement that stated a new bridge would be constructed about 500m upstream from the current bridge. Work is scheduled to start near the end of 2018 and the completion of the bridge (being ready for traffic) is envisaged in the summer of 2020.[5]