The Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development has dismissed as false a viral photograph showing a cracked steel bridge connection, insisting the structure pictured is not Birchenough Bridge over the Save River, despite claims by social media users linking the image to the iconic crossing.
In a statement, the Ministry said the image circulating online does not show Birchenough Bridge, pointing to fundamental structural differences between the two crossings.
According to the statement, Birchenough Bridge is a steel arch suspension bridge whose deck loads travel through stringers, cross beams, and vertical hangers before being carried by the arches down to the abutments, with no piers standing in the river. The bridge shown in the viral photo, by contrast, is a riveted steel truss structure, with loads carried through a framework of members joined by riveted gusset plates, “not through an arch-and-hanger system at all,” the ministry said.
The statement also cited differences in the steelwork connections and the footwalks, noting that Birchenough Bridge’s pedestrian walkways are built from a specially selected rust-resisting steel, unlike the configuration visible in the circulating image.
The Ministry said a dedicated technical team conducts regular inspections of Birchenough Bridge as part of its routine bridge-management program and that the structure remains fit for use under its current operating restrictions.
“The safety of road users is the Ministry’s foremost priority,” the statement read.