It is an important element of the early twentieth-century transport heritage of Kilkenny and Wexford. Built as a joint venture between the "Fishguard and Rosslare Railways & Harbors Company (FRR + H Co)" and the Great Southern and Western and Great Western Railways. The bridge forms part of the Limerick-Rosslare railway line, which was extended in 1906 to improve cross-channel passenger services from Rosslare Strand to Waterford. After the Tay Bridge and Forth Bridge it was the third longest rail bridge in Britain and Ireland.
