The lower deck of the bridge originally carried a railway line for freight wagons, but that was replaced by a road in 1968.

[citation needed] On 3 July 1968, as part of a series of protests against housing conditions in Derry, the Derry Housing Action Committee (DHAC) held a sit-down protest on the newly opened second deck of the Craigavon Bridge.

[1] Hands Across the Divide, a pair of bronze statues forming a sculpture, produced by Derry sculptor Maurice Harron, are situated at the west end of bridge in Carlisle Square.

The first bridge over the River Foyle was a wooden one, assembled in the United States and transported to Derry.

[3] The structure included a drawbridge because the inhabitants of Strabane had navigational rights on the river.