€2m contracts signed to upgrade Haulbowline bridges

Contracts worth almost €2m have been signed to upgrade the Haulbowline Island bridges to facilitate the multi-million clean-up of the former Irish Steel toxic dump site.

The contract, valued at €1.85m, was awarded by Cork County Council yesterday to L&M Keating Ltd. The firm will carry out an extensive repair and overhaul of the two bridges which provide access to the island — the Southern Channel Bridge, which comprises nine spans and is approximately 207m long, and the Northern Channel Bridge, which comprises eight spans and is approximately 146m long.

The works will include surface replacement, street lighting, drainage, safety barriers, parapets and expansion joints, bridge deck waterproofing, and extensive concrete repair.

A 25-tonne weight restriction remains in place on both bridges pending completion of the remediation work.

Marine minister Simon Coveney, who is driving the €40m clean-up of the East Tip site on Haulbowline, described the bridge upgrade as a key infrastructural component of the remediation project.

“Repairs to the bridge will facilitate the transportation of the potentially large volumes of construction materials which may be brought to the island by road,” said Mr Coveney.

The contracts were signed yesterday, less than a week after An Bord Pleanála granting planning permission for the remediation of the East Tip.

An EPA decision on the application for a waste licence is expected within weeks. Cork County Council is acting as agent of the minister in the remediation of the island.