The numbers · lead technical page
They raised the road and never raised the wall
The wall did not only fall. The road rose. A parapet's containment height is measured from the surface a vehicle travels on — so every time the road was resurfaced, the wall got lower without a stone being touched.
From the council's own Road Management system, obtained under FOI:
| Ch. from | Ch. to | Year | Name | Phase | Intervention |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1780 | 2480 | 2018 | Killardry | Complete | Road Reconstruction / Strengthening |
| 0 | 1802 | 2025 | Kilmoyler to Kilmo… | Complete | Resealing RSR |
The Killardry section begins at chainage 1780. The 2025 reseal ran to chainage 1802 — into the bridge section. Both the 2018 reconstruction and the 2025 reseal add material on top of the existing surface. Each raises the carriageway. The parapet was never raised to match.
The verge compounds it
The forensic report measured every wall height “above the adjacent verge” — the verge is its datum. The 2014 baseline recorded a soft verge of 0.85m and an average depth of fill of 0.2m, with embankments “in good condition.” Years of cutting without removal raise the verge further, until verge and coping nearly meet and the wall stops being a barrier and becomes a ramp.
Plainly: they resurfaced the road twice across the bridge section, raising it each time, never raised the wall, never regraded the verge — and turned a 1.25-metre parapet into a nine-inch ramp.
Open The exact 2025 completion date and the works specifications with pre- and post-levels are not yet held. They are the documents that turn this account into proof, and they are being sought. No date is stated here until the document is in hand.
Source: TCC Road Management system, FOI 10526 items 6 and 8 (held, hashed); DWA verge datum finding
Last updated 2026-08-05. This is a living record — findings are added as dated entries and prior versions remain visible.