Cork City bridge damaged by cherry picker joyriders reopens

City council engineers have now replaced the damaged sections of decking with timber panels as a temporary measure to facilitate the reopening of the bridge.

A bridge damaged in a joyriding incident involving a scissors lift in Cork City has reopened.

Cork City Council reopened Mary Elmes bridge which links St Patrick’s Quay to Merchant’s Quay, to the public this evening following temporary repairs. The pedestrian and cycle bridge suffered structural damage during a joyriding incident on Sunday night.

Several wooden decking panels on the upriver side of the bridge were cracked when the scissors lift was driven onto the bridge. A metal handrail on the St Patrick’s Quay side of the bridge was also damaged during the incident.

Some of the metal decking panels fell into the river, leaving a gaping hole in the floor of the bridge, which is used by several thousand people a day.

The scissors lift was driven through Cork City on Sunday night, with videos of the machine crashing into bollards on Oliver Plunkett St shared widely online. Two men were subsequently arrested.

Representatives of the bridge manufacturers were on site on Tuesday with city council engineers to conduct a full assessment of the damage and to consider repair options.

Pending permanent repairs, city council engineers have now replaced the damaged sections of decking with timber panels as a temporary measure to facilitate the reopening of the bridge.

However, the seating area on the bridge will remain closed, and the pedestrian handrail on the St Patrick’s Quay side will also remain closed off until the damage there is fully repaired.

A metal handrail on the St Patrick’s Quay side of the bridge was damaged during the incident.

It could be several weeks before the work is completed due to the requirement to fabricate the bespoke replacement decking panels. The city council will bear the costs of the repair work. The full cost has not been finalised.

A spokesperson for Cork City Council apologised for the inconvenience caused by the temporary bridge closure over recent days. “Our team has been working hard to get the bridge reopened as soon as possible,” he said.

“We appreciate your patience and understanding that safety is paramount and like you we look forward to having the Mary Elmes Bridge back to its former condition at the earliest opportunity.” 

The bridge was officially opened in September 2019 and is an important and very busy sustainable transport link between the city centre and the MacCurtain St area.