A planning application has now been made by the Department of Infrastructure for the construction of three steel truss pedestrian bridges.

The first is planned for the site of the former railway bridge at Glen Wyllin in Kirk Michael, which will link up the heritage trail, and which runs from the village to St John’s.

A second bridge planned for Glen Mooar, also at the location of a former railway bridge outside Kirk Michael, which will connect up the already existing heritage trail.

The third is planned to span across the A1 Peel Road.

All of these bridges will run along the old railway line from St Johns to Kirk Michael, which currently functions as a public footpath and heritage trail.

The bridges will form part of a £1.3million scheme to support the government’s Active Travel Strategy by making the trail more accessible all year round.

The bridges which spanned the Glen Wyllin and Glen Mooar valleys were completely removed in 1975, and the new bridges will be built upon their former supports, with aesthetics that ’echo’ the originals. A bridge also existed over the Peel Road, but currently path users must cross the main road to continue along it.