Landmark pedestrian bridge ‘could be a tourist attraction’

WATERFORD is on the brink of an historic development with work now underway on the €530 million Waterford City Bypass, which includes a long-sought second river crossing.

But it will have a third if a construction management and engineering degree student at Waterford Institute of Technology has his way.

He has won an award for his proposal of a €26m pedestrian bridge across the Suir between the Clock Tower and North Quays.

Conor Nolan from Butlerstown, Waterford received the 2006 Sisk Award for

Excellence in Project Management and Research from Declan Gahan, Contracts Manager, John Sisk & Sons at a reception in WIT.

Conor’s research concluded that a €220m bridge from the Clock Tower to the North Quays would facilitate the joining of the communities on both sides of the river and bring significant social and economic benefits to the city.

The design proposed is a cantilever cable-stayed bridge with a horizontal opening middle section to allow cruise liners and other visiting ships to pass upstream. The bridge would be a landmark and could become a tourist attraction similar to the Gateshead Millennium Bridge over the River Tyne in northeast England.

Eugene O’Sullivan, senior lecturer in construction management and engineering at WIT, said the Sisk-sponsored competition allowed construction management and engineering students to apply their skills to real-world scenarios.

“The students really relish the opportunity to take a close look at specific projects and topics. Conor’s award-winning vision for a pedestrian bridge across the Suir allowed him to scope out all of the issues involved in delivering a landmark scheme of this nature and I think there is likely to be considerable interest in what he has proposed.”

Runners-up in the Sisk award were James Donohoe from Wexford with his thesis Project Knowledge Transfer within an Irish Construction Organisation, and Philip Ryan from Limerick with Project-Based Tax Incentives in Construction.