URBAN EXPRESSION

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Bridge

THE BRIDGE THAT LOOKS LIKE A HARP

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THE BRIDGE THAT LOOKS LIKE A HARP – SAMUEL BECKETT BRIDGE

One day I was standing at the tram stop at Jervis and I overheard a visitor asking people how to get to the Harp Bridge and all thought that she was trying to get to Guinness but I suspected that she may have been based in a hotel near the Samuel Beckett bridge and this proved to be the case … she could not remember the name of the hotel but knew that it was near a bridge that looked like a harp.

Architect Santiago Calatrava was the lead designer of the bridge. He was assisted with the civil and structural aspects of the design by Roughan & O’Donovan consulting engineers.

This was the second bridge in the area designed by Calatrava, the first being the James Joyce Bridge, which is further upriver.

Constructed by a “Graham Hollandia Joint Venture”, the main span of the Samuel Beckett Bridge is supported by 31 cable stays from a doubly back-stayed single forward arc tubular tapered spar, with decking provided for four traffic and two pedestrian lanes. It is also capable of opening through an angle of 90 degrees allowing ships to pass through. This is achieved through a rotational mechanism housed in the base of the pylon.

The shape of the spar and its cables is said to evoke an image of a harp lying on its edge. (The harp being the national symbol for Ireland from as early as the thirteenth century).

The steel structure of the bridge was constructed in Rotterdam by Hollandia, a Dutch company also responsible for the steel fabrication of the London Eye. The steel span of the bridge was transferred from the Hollandia wharf in Krimpen aan den IJssel on 3 May 2009, with support from specialist transport company ALE Heavylift.

The bridge, which cost €60 million, is named for Irish writer Samuel Beckett. It was officially opened to pedestrians on 10 December 2009 and to road traffic at 7 am the following day.

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ST FINBARR’S BRIDGE IN CORK CITY

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ST FINBARR’S BRIDGE IN CORK CITY

I don’t have much to say about St. Finbarr’s Bridge as it was completed in 1999 and it is not visually attractive.

Saint Finbar, Finbarr, Finnbar, or Finnbarr, in Irish Fionnbharra, very often abbreviated to Barra, (c. 550–25 September 623) was Bishop of Cork and abbot of a monastery in what is now the city of Cork, Ireland. He is patron saint of the city and of the Diocese of Cork. His feast day is 25 September.

There are five Irish saints named Finnbarr. One scholar has theorized that the Cork saint is identical with Finnian of Moville, a teacher of Colm Cille.

Scotland has place names that refer to Saint Finnbarr, perhaps due to devotion to him having been carried there by disciples. One such place is the Gaelic-speaking island of Barra, where there is a ruined church called Cille Bharra (Church of Finnbarr). Tradition identifies that Finnbarr with the Cork saint, but it has been argued that he was Scottish.

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THE WHISTLING BRIDGE ACROSS THE SHANNON RIVER

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THE WHISTLING BRIDGE ACROSS THE SHANNON RIVER

One of my targets was to photograph all the bridges in Limerick City and I think that I have done so and I will publish all relevant photographs between now and the end of the summer. This delay is because I have a very busy schedule between now and September.

Next week I visit Cork and one item on my list to photograph is the Shaky Bridge, which as undergone intensive restoration, but until a few weeks ago I had forgotten that Limerick City had a Whistling Bridge.

Shannon Bridge was opened on May 30, 1988 to connect the Dock Road area to the North Circular Road area.

The bridge was also known as the Whistling or Whining or Singing Bridge as the fencing on the bridge resonated with the winds coming up the Shannon Estuary, producing a shrill whistling sound. In extreme winds, the sound was quite deafening. Simple grills were added, and the effect has ceased.

The Shannon Bridge is by far the newest River Shannon crossing in Limerick city centre. It was built in the late 1980s, and connects to a relief road that passes through a bird sanctuary and runs around the north of the city. The bridge is still at times referred to as “The New Bridge”, although the Abbey Bridge across the Abbey River is newer.

UNEXPECTED STREET ART ON THE SHANNON BRIDGE IN LIMERICK

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UNEXPECTED STREET ART ON THE SHANNON BRIDGE IN LIMERICK

Next week I visit Cork and one item on my list to photograph is the Shaky Bridge but until a few weeks ago I had forgotten that Limerick City had a Whistling Bridge. Shannon Bridge was opened on May 30, 1988 to connect the Dock Road area to the North Circular Road area.

The bridge was also known as the Whistling or Whining or Singing Bridge as the fencing on the bridge resonated with the winds coming up the Shannon Estuary, producing a shrill whistling sound. In extreme winds, the sound was quite deafening. Simple grills were added, and the effect has ceased.

The Shannon Bridge is by far the newest River Shannon crossing in Limerick city centre. It was built in the late 1980s, and connects to a relief road that passes through a bird sanctuary and runs around the north of the city. The bridge is still at times referred to as “The New Bridge”, although the Abbey Bridge across the Abbey River is newer.

THIS IS KNOWN AS THE LIVING BRIDGE

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THIS IS KNOWN AS THE LIVING BRIDGE AND IT FEATURES FOUR PLATFORMS OF REFUGE

This visit I tried my best to photograph all the bridges in Limerick, especially those that I had not photographed before. I should mention that I have visited and photographed the “Living Bridge” a number of times but this time I managed to get some new views of the structure.

“The Living Bridge – An Droichead Beo” is a unique design by Wilkinson Eyre Architects, London and consists of seven 50-metre spans linked together by piers which create four platforms of refuge for walkers.

The platforms are designed to accommodate social gatherings, informal teaching sessions, music and dance performances, as well as a wide array of educational, social and cultural activities – all contributing to this facility’s status as a “living” bridge”.

The bridge alternates between rhythms of bridge and island, with lightweight bridge structures joining to more solid pier locations. This is reflected by the change in construction materials from steel to concrete and the transition from open parapets to solid pillars and glazed side walls which serve to shelter the “inhabitants” of this animated facility.

The architects designed the bridge to move in a beautiful flowing line across the Shannon, mirroring the river. The design conveys the sense of a series of bridges leaping from pier to pier, each supported by one of the existing islands in the riverbed. This gives the traveller the sense that they are crossing the river on stepping stones.

From the south campus, access to the bridge is through what presents itself as a hidden gateway in the Millstream Courtyard and provides a vital link between the Glucksman Library, Concert Hall and Millstream developments to the Health Sciences and the new Irish World Academy of Music and Dance on the north bank. An impressive Plaza will welcome you to Clare once you have travelled over the bridge.

The Pedestrian Living Bridge project was resourced through a partnership of private and public funding and was assigned to Arup Consulting Engineers in Dublin. Kerin Contract Management in Limerick managed the project while building work was undertaken by Eiffel Construction, France’s largest bridge builder.

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