Completed in November 1891, it was an innovative design by the prominent Queensland Government Architect and bridge engineer, Alfred Barton Brady.

By the late 1880s, the Ingham area had become one of Queensland's top sugar producers with some five mills operating in the Herbert River district.

[1] The bridge was designed by Alfred Barton Brady, an English-born civil engineer and architect who migrated to Australia in 1884.

[1][2] The contract for construction of the bridge was awarded to James Graham of South Brisbane who commenced work early in 1890.

Following a number of delays, partly caused by the frequent flooding of the river, the bridge was completed at a cost of £7,737 and opened for traffic on 4 November 1891.

The original bridge across the railway in Edward Street Brisbane, designed by FDG Stanley in 1887 had concrete abutments.

Brady developed designs to avoid trapping debris and to present the least possible obstruction to the flow of flood waters.

To date, it remains common practice to design less important bridges to withstand flood submergence.

For the decking, Brady used 33-foot (10 m) lengths of steel trough plate, 12 inches (300 mm) deep, riveted together and securely bolted down to the concrete string-courses.

Despite its early set-backs, the 1891 low-level bridge has survived in the long-term and this has been attributed to its innovative design, which presents a small obstruction to flood flow.

At each end of the bridge, there is a pair of reflective guide posts fixed into the curb, one on each side of the road.

The cement that is an element of the pillars has eroded, exposing the pebbles that form part of the concrete's composition.

Gairloch Bridge, constructed in 1890–1891, is important in demonstrating the pattern of settlement in North Queensland in the late nineteenth century.

By the late 1880s, the Herbert River valley was one of Queensland's most important sugar producing areas.

The Gairloch Bridge is an example of the earliest use of concrete, where it was restricted to applications requiring only compressive strength such as piers and abutments.

[1] The place is important in demonstrating a high degree of creative or technical achievement at a particular period.

Steel troughs were placed longitudinally on concrete piers to form the decking of the bridge while at the same time acting as structural members.