Newcomen Bridge, North Strand Road Cycle Route, Dublin, Ireland.
Summary
Newcomen Footbridge is a single span, steel, pedestrian bridge crossing over both the Docklands Railway Line and the Royal Canal in Dublin.
The footbridge forms a critical link in the North Strand Road Cycle Route and the Royal Canal Orbital Cycle Route, and provides separate facilities for pedestrians and more space for cyclists on the adjacent Newcomen bridge.
Background
The bridge is located on a site of significant architectural and archaeological heritage. As such, it was essential that its design, in terms of layout and aesthetics, would reflect its rich environs.
Close co-operation with IrishRail and Waterways Ireland ensured that a wide range of factors, including conservation, railway safety, the environment and canal navigation, were fully addressed in the design.
Solution
Our bridge solution consists of:
- A 31m span half-through steel bridge 'main span' running parallel to the existing Newcomen Road Bridge
- A 'link span' sitting on a series of four piers that provides an easy transition for pedestrians from the main span to the existing adjacent footpath
Highlight
Choosing steel as the primary bridge material meant that both spans were relatively light when compared to a concrete bridge of equivalent span.
They were fabricated off-site in Carlow and transported to site in two distinct sections, without the requirement for particularly heavy lifting equipment. This de-risked the work undertaken during the bridge installation and minimised disruption to affected stakeholders.
Challenge
Japanese Knotwood
The presence of Japanese Knotwood at the confined, urban site posed a significant challenge.
It required the implementation of a five-year Japanese Knotwood management plan, which dictated that contaminated material resulting from the site clearance and earthworks had to be stockpiled on-site for treatment.
24-hour delivery and installation
The bridge spans had to be delivered and installed during a single 24-hour possession of both the North Strand Road and the railway below because there was insufficient room to store them on-site.
This required the implementation of a comprehensive traffic management plan, which involved transporting the spans along the M9, M7 and M50 and through the Dublin Port Tunnel.
Services provided:
- Engineering and design
- Employer's Representative
