Halfpenny Bridge

It will be off-white. The wraps come off on Friday, December 21st. I have written a piece about the refurbishment for tomorrow’s Sunday Times.

A pity that The Sunday Times no longer put their Irish articles on their website…. looking forward to seeing the bridge unveiled again….

So ‘off- white’ was perhaps the original colour rather than silver.

The scaffolding is coming off at the moment… was in town and you can now see the nice view of the Custom House from the Millienium Bridge again…..

Much-reduced ST website is the result of budget cuts made in response to slump in advertising revenues this autumn…now no pictures on site either…

…Shane, I’m now missing your articles. When can I see them elsewhere on the Web?

Here, in the New Year, thanks to Paul.

Absolutely… really looking forward to having the regular updates and variety of information that Shane’s columns will bring to the site. We’ll be introducing a search engine specifically for that area of the site for accurate results.

Well that’s great about the Sunday Times articles. They had last Sunday’s Sunday Times in my local Chinese take-away, which is pretty fast, so I only read the first part of the bridge article. One thing mentioned was that the bridge was unpopular around the end of the nineteenth century. The bridge everyone hates now is the loopline bridge. It is true that it would be better if it wasn’t there at all, it ruins views of the Customs House both from along the river and from Gardiner Street, but, given that it is there and there is no real way we can get rid of the DART bridge, shouldn’t we treat it better and learn to love it too. It would probably be quite fine cleaned and painted and uncluttered with ads. In his book Frank MacDonald advocates replacing it with something ligher, but I think we would be losing some interesting idustrial age masonry without really gaining a clear vista.

I have to say that walking down the quays last night, seeing the first exposed half illuminated really demonstrated how much the river needs the bridge and how poor the Millenium Bridge looks in comparison.

The auld Ha’penny is looking great. I think the colour is an excellent idea it will really enhance its visual appeal. Should look great floodlit too. Bright and clean. But I miust admoit I like the Millenium bridge at night. Its very subtle and understated. A bit of attendtio is needed to the lighting though. Alot of them are broken already. A pity.
While on the subject of bridges – any thoughts about the bookmarket on Grattan Bridge. I dont think I have seen any comment posted about it. Its quite a good idea I suppose although I cant for the life of me inagine what made them think of it. It far too original an idea for Mr Fitzgerald and Co. I hope they change the bridge from that awful pea-green colour. Something more distinctive would suit.

the bridge looks great, and i have to say i am well impresed…almost forgotten what it looked like, the sooner the temporary bridge is gone the better cause it really is awful…well done to the corporation – the best revamp i’ve seen in a long time.

[This message has been edited by Peter FitzPatrick (edited 16 December 2001).]

Yes the bridge looks better than ever without all the previous bits of scaffold that’ve been holding it together for years.
While it’s great to have the extra space where the Toll Booths once were I think Iron railing could heve suited better than the heavy looking new stone work.

As for the Millenium Bridge, looks as fine as ever, Hapenny makes it look a bit deflated but it’s still a nice bit of work even if it could do with a little more love & care from the maintenance people. Also I don’t know why the didn’t integrate the boardwalk a little more into it, the board walk seems almost afraid to get close at all, unlike where if now comes right up to the H’penny.

On the bridge note, is there any further developments on the suggestion of the pedestrian bridge between Burgh/Eden Quays?

Its going to look brilliant, and am really looking forward to using it again… it always made me smile crossing it…. because of the slope, people couldnt barge across it and it seemed more civilised than the other bridges….

excuse me if i’m talking rubbish… just in seasonly good humour

not rubbish, a real live architectural experience, more please

Up until the late 1970s or so – before the plywoood deck and gunge surface – the deck comprised timber boards running along the span, with gridded metal straps across the line of movement, to provide grip underfoot. You could see the river flowing between the gaps in the boards. It induced a delicious sense of vertigo.

a humourous look…..

North-south co-operation took on dramatic new meaning yesterday when Dublin’s Ha’penny Bridge reopened, after a refurbishment partly carried out by Belfast shipbuilders Harland and Wolff.

For much of its 185-year existence, the bridge has symbolised the effort to create understanding between the two communities in Dublin, where north and south have been at loggerheads ever since the city was controversially partitioned by the river Liffey.

But as it braced itself to carry pedestrians again, after a lapse of nine months, the much-loved structure returned to work to find it was shouldering a heavy new responsibility, too.

Mr Liam Nellis, chief executive of the cross-Border body InterTradeIreland, confirmed that the refurbishment had turned it into “more than just a bridge”. Thanks to the involvement of Harland and Wolff, a company that “never set foot in the South” until recently, he said, the structure was now a symbol of North-South partnership on the island as a whole.

The bridge looked a bit pale at the news, but this may be due to the off-white paint it has been covered with in a throwback to the original colour scheme.

It also returns to public life at a time when, with the introduction of the euro, it risks being renamed as the 63-cent bridge. Thanks partly to Belfast metal-working skills, however, the north-south structure at least looks well prepared to cope with the expected 30,000 cross-border bodies a day.

The Lord Mayor of Dublin, a southsider, set foot in the north at around 11 a.m. yesterday to perform the reopening ceremony on the corner of Liffey Street. Cllr Michael Mulcahy spoke of his hopes that, with the arrival of Luas and the Dublin Port Tunnel, heavy traffic would soon be banished from the quays and the river returned to its rightful position, at the heart of the city.

He could hardly make himself heard over the trucks roaring past towards the docks, a point he acknowledged, but the sentiments were warmly applauded.

Then, while the gardaí halted the traffic, he unveiled a plaque and led a rousing rendition of Molly Malone, at the end of which a well-wisher advised him: “Don’t give up the day job”.

With that, the bridge was opened again to the public. In a gesture to its origins, a group of extras in period dress demanded “ha’penny” tolls from those crossing (pound-shaped ha’pennies preferred, proceeds to charity).

At least the temporary bailey bridge – which would have been christened “the quiver on the river” had it become permanent – will soon be gone. And with features including widened access from the quays, extra lighting, stepped ramps and a slip-resistant deck, the new improved Ha’penny Bridge is well equipped. The final bill for the work was £1.8 million.

And – Its closed again

Was just down by there at lunchtime and the bridge was closed – there was people at work on it and there was some kind of bracings around it – anbody got any ideas whats going on?

last Sunday’s Indo had a piece on it, think they said it was something to do with the new walking surface and nothing to do with the structure…and that it would remain closed for just a “few days”…won’t hold my breath

hmmmm

Although I think the metal work and lighting looks fantastic, I sort of wish that they hadn’t completely replaced all the stone work (and old collection points) at each end of the bridge.

I understand why they did it, and the bridge is certainly easier to access, but it just seems a shame to take away such important features due to congestion.

But the metal work really is fantastic…

fjp

The way it was, thanks to fjp: http://www.fantasyjackpalance.com/fjp/photos/city/0code2/hapenny-bridge-repairs-03.html

Yeah! I noticed the other day as I was walking over the bridge a lot of the new surface looked as if it had worn away already.