26 June 2018
By Mary Bermingham
mary@TheCork.ie
Building and civil engineering contractors, Cumnor Construction are to begin work next week on the €1.2 million repair and rehabilitation of Cork city’s much-loved St. Patrick’s Bridge.
An under bridge crane unit – one of three in the country- is already in place and will be used to clean, repoint and repair the stonework on the 19th-century heritage bridge over the next 6-7 weeks.
Lord Mayor, Cllr Mick Finn said: “We are all delighted that this restoration work is taking place and that such care is being taken to stay true to the design ideals of this bridge which opened in 1861 and is a key part of the city’s built heritage”.
The €1.2 million works, being carried out by Cork City Council in conjunction with Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), will have minimal impact on pedestrian and traffic movement and will be completed in October.
Meanwhile, specialist repair and restoration work is continuing in Italy on four of the bridge’s lamp columns.
As part of the overall works, the bridge’s footpaths and carriageway surfacing are to be replaced and new road markings put in place. Existing traffic lights, elevation and architectural lighting and directional signage will also be upgraded.
Critical maintenance work is due to start on July 9 on another of the city’s heritage bridges, St Vincent’s Bridge which connects the North Mall and Sunday’s Well to the junction of Bachelor’s Quay and Grenville Place. As part of these works, lighting on the bridge will also be improved.
Refurbishment works will begin on Daly’s Bridge in November to repair extensive corrosion and damage.
