"Prior to the 1840s, the Lagan was spanned at this point by the Long Bridge, the lowest crossing point on the river. Erected in the 1680s, it comprised 21 arches spanning 840ft in total. Including its long approach from Ballymacarrett on the Co Down side, it was almost a mile long (hence its name). However, it was too narrow (c.20ft wide) to carry the increasing volume of traffic and by 1830 it was considered unfit for purpose, the year in which its replacement was announced. It did, however, survive for some time thereafter as is captioned Long Bridge on the 1833 OS map. Charles Lanyon, County Surveyor for Antrim, in his report to the spring assizes of the Co Antrim Grand Jury in March 1838 expressed his regret that the proposed new bridge was to be located at the end of Ann Street rather than High St as the approach roads were too narrow. In the event, the bridge’s location remained as it was, on the line of the Long Bridge.
In a report to the Antrim Jury’s summer assizes in July 1838, Lanyon noted that work could not start until the loan promised to the County Grand Juries by the Board of Works was forthcoming. Work finally commenced in 1840. The contract had been awarded by the Board of Works to Francis Ritchie & Son on the basis of their tendered price of £27,000. It was to comprise five arches, each of 50ft span and 10ft rise. As the bridge straddled counties Antrim and Down, its construction was to be supervised by the Charles Lanyon (in his capacity as Surveyor for Antrim) and John Fraser, Down County Surveyor, and was anticipated to take upwards of three years.
By March 1841, the Long Bridge had been demolished and preparations made for the coffer dams for the foundations of the new bridge. However, even at this late stage, there appears to have been some debate regarding the bridge’s design and location. A proposal had been made to lessen the gradient up to the new bridge by making its central arch higher, resulting in a bridge with an ascending and descending deck. However, this was rejected in favour of the existing design which had a horizontal deck.
By July 1842, one of the arches had been keyed in and the bridge’s completion was anticipated by the end of the year. In the event, it was not opened to traffic until January 1843 (slightly late, but on budget).
It acquired its present name – Queen’s Bridge – to commemorate Queen Victoria’s visit to Belfast in summer 1849. It is cited as Queen’s Bridge on the 1858 OS map and subsequent editions. The bridge is ascribed in most publications to Messrs Lanyon and Fraser. However, in a letter to the Belfast Newsletter in March 1885, John Fraser, grandson and namesake of the Down Surveyor, claimed that Lanyon only came on the scene “when the bridge was in progress”. He goes on to note that his grandfather had been involved from the start and “has been represented all along to be the engineer for the present bridge”. This claim finds support in the fact that Lanyon could not effect any changes to the bridge’s location after he expressed his concerns in 1838; had he been involved from the start, he would surely not have been complaining. It is to Surveyor Fraser’s credit that he did not claim to be the bridge’s sole designer, even though his grandson said he was. In his report to the Down Grand Jury in July 1840, John Fraser noted that the bridge’s design was by him and Mr Woodhouse, “the experienced and talented Engineer”. The latter was, in fact, Thomas Jackson Woodhouse who was County Surveyor for Antrim from 1834 until 1836, when he moved back to England and Charles Lanyon replaced him (he is best known for Great Victoria Street Railway Station). Ironically, Lanyon resigned his post in 1842 to take up private practice, so was not privy to the bridge’s opening in 1843.
By the early 1860s, the new bridge, like its predecessor, was failing to cope with the volume of traffic. Henry Smyth, Surveyor for Co Down, noted in a report to the Co Down assizes in 1862 that it had been proposed to widen the bridge from its present 30ft to 42ft with the addition of a 6ft footpath cantilevered out on both sides in metal. He suggested that it the road ought to be widened to 44ft; this was the width of the approaches (both of which had been widened in the 1840s works). He also proposed the addition of two 8ft wide footpaths, bringing its total width to 60ft. Finally, he advocated that the widening should be done in stone rather than metal, in order to match the existing structure. In the event, it was Josiah C. Bretland, Belfast Borough Surveyor from 1884 to 1903, who had the last word on the widening scheme (he also designed the present Albert Bridge which opened in 1890).
In 1885, the bridge was widened with cantilevered metal girders and its new lattice metal parapets (the previous ones were stone) were adorned with cast-iron lamp standards by the Sun Foundry, Glasgow. However, the footpaths were considerably wider than the 6ft ones originally proposed and the bridge’s overall width is now c.62ft. It is shown in its widened form on the 1902 OS map. In 1966, Queen’s Bridge was augmented with the Queen Elizabeth II bridge, a two-span steel structure a short distance downstream. This allowed the four vehicular lanes of the Queen’s Bridge to become one-way (in the direction of the city centre)."