A new bridge over the River Shannon which connects the twin towns of Killaloe in Co Clare and Ballina in Co Tipperary will officially open today.
It will be named after the High King of Ireland Brian Boru, whose palace Kincora overlooked Lough Derg a thousand years ago.
The length of the bridge is 207m, and it forms part of an overall scheme which also includes the Killaloe bypass, and an upgrade of the regional road from Ballina to Birdhill.
The entire scheme is 6.2 kilometres and cost €88 million.
The largest crawler crane in Ireland was used to erect the 700 tonnes of structural steelwork over the Shannon crossing.
It has 10 viewing platforms at each of its five piers, along with wide pedestrian and cycle ways.
The construction of the bridge was carried out by John Sisk and Son Ltd who were awarded the contract by Clare and Tipperary County Councils. The firm commenced work on the site in August 2022.
Decades of traffic congestion in Killaloe and Ballina will be significantly reduced upon the opening of the Brian Boru Bridge.
The old bridge was built over 300 years ago and was designed to carry horses and carts. A traffic light system operates at either side of the single lane bridge, and lengthy queues are a familiar presence in both towns.
The opening of the new bridge has been long awaited and is welcomed by both communities, though many would like the old bridge to remain open to local traffic, and not pedestrianised as planned.
The Brian Boru Bridge will be officially opened by Minister for Transport Darragh O’Brien this afternoon.
