The railway line running between Belfast and Lisburn opened in 1839 (WP) and in 1863 a bridge was built to allow passage over it. This bridge was known as “the Boyne bridge” after the legend that King Billy had travelled across a nearby bridge (the Saltwater Bridge across the Blackstaff) on his way to meet James II in 1690. The (railway) bridge was expanded in 1936 (Read The Plaque) and the Saltwater bridge was used as the foundations for the approach road from Sandy Row to the expanded bridge (WP).
The new Grand Central Station “Transport Hub” means that trains no longer pass underneath the bridge and its demolition was included in the 2017 plans, scheduled to begin in October of this year (2024). However, protesters lodged a legal bid to stop the demolition, under the auspices of the Ulster Architectural Heritage Society (BBC) but lost the case, though it is now not being “demolished” but “sensitively dismantled” and parts saved for “an art project” (Third Sector). A rally is planned for November 5th to “Save Sandy Row” (Boyne Bridge Defenders facebook group).
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