millenium bridge damage
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has anyone noticed the state of the millenium bridge walking surface recently. there are hundereds of little jots taken out of the ribbing on the walking area. and a coin sized hole punched right through the surface close to the north end.
does anyone know what caused this and is this material (which im presuming is some sort of aluminium alloy?) suitable for a heavy wear project like this?
because if it continues deteriorating at this rate….remember the millenium clock??I always thought that the bridge looked decidedly shabby far too quickly after it opened. I guess this is the natural extension. The materials probably sounded good on paper and as we found out so often – real life is an entirely different matter!
At least the bridge is doing the right thing and going the way of all the other Millenium projects!!!The bronze handrail is particularly bad – dirty, full of wavy dents and the joints too obvious.
Saying that, the bridge’s profile is strikingly elegant and well designed.
yeah, i think the bridge is nicely designed aswell, especially the bronze handrail that you can rest your arms on and just look at the city.
but i think the issue of longevity wasnt fully considered by the architects(howley harrington if im not mistaken) i mean that walking surface must have been used in similar situations before. it gunged up and became black very quickly and now the surface has been quite seriously damaged an is even more of an eysore.
consideration and research into a durable ground material should have obviously been paramount in a hyper public scheme like this.
What’s causing the damage is the Garda Horse Patrol – which I have witnessed crossing the bridge – approx 1 tonne of horsemeat should do it
ahhhh that seems right!
nothing like the consummate ignorance of the gardai to ruin the public realm.
i think ill get on to them and ask them to stop using this route. although ill probably just get grunted at by an indecipherable, unconcerned idiot.
This bridge suffers from the usual problem with the new additions to the city in that its quite poorly maintained. I see that the Council have at least replaced alot of the LEDs in the centre although there are some missing from the entranceways. In addition a steamclean would do the bridge the world of good. It gets a high footfalll and its maintainance needs are high.
I am amazed to hear that the Garda are responsible for the damage… good luck with your complaint!
I was appalled to see the guards take two horses over it – the iron shod shoes ripped up the surface of the bridge.
There should be an investigation and the guards should have to pay for the repair. If the guards have no respect for public property why should anyone else.
I’ve dropped the Garda Press Office an email… i’ve seen them cross it myself.. also seen them leave a nice mount of horse shit on it…
make sure and let us know what dismissive spiel they send you back.
i suppose its DCC who own the bridge? i wonder if they’d be too happy about whats going on. anyone work there ?let it be knownto the relevants? i mean its a disgrace that this should be allowed happen.
The damage under discussion are the result of a number of events.
LED lenses are cracked. Since these are below the level of the metal (aluminium) it would take considerable effort with something quite small in diameter, probably metal, to inflict the damage. Even heavy set people in stillettos are unlikely to cause this. Currently someone has placed stickers (musical notes) over these.
The ribs on the planks are being eroded from wear, or dragging of (again) heavy (stone/metal) over parts of the bridge.
There are a number of puncture holes in the planks. These could only be inflicted by driving a sharp tool (pointed crowbar or other spike like item into the plank. Aluminium is relatively soft in comparison to other metals.
It is clear that most of the damage is deliberate. It is very unlikely that the horses are the cause of the damage above, although the steel shoes will cause some wear on the raised grips (serated edges).
Not sure I agree with you, should a foot bridge not be able to take the weight of a horse – the average weighing less than half a tonne. Surely the damage they are creating is only showing the weakness in the materials which it seems will degrade with sustained usage?
Nice photo el architino, but you might want to run it through photoshop, the colours seem slightly unreal.
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Sorry, Shadow. I agree with you. You happened to get a post in without me seeing it.
Could people be driving umerellas into the surface?
that was one of my original questions as to whether the materials were chosen with enough foresight for such a hevily used project?
however after seeing it again today it does seem very likely that the horses shoes are responsible for damaging the ribbing. no matter what materials were used this shows a total lack of respect for public property by the gardai.
the rest of the stuff is vandalism should have been forseen. but to lay the blame on the architects for not predicting very large horses being ridden accross the bridge might be a tad unfair.
What I meant was, surely the damage being done by the horseys is only speeding up the inevitable degradation of the surface.
I went down to have a look at it this afternoon – Isawthat hole you speak of what?, which was evidently caused with some significant force, someone literally rammed a sharp rounded object into it, like a golf umbrella tip, the metal looks like it exploded with a bullet through it, with all of the frayed edges pointing towards the underside.
And I too saw the stickers that some idiot placed over each and every solitary LED in the centre of the walkway.
The amount of effort they must have gone to to do this – what pathetic individuals they are.And as for those bloody white stickers on the bollards, which also taint every piece of furniture on Henry St etc…
Perhaps the bridge should be closed at night – this may seem silly considering this is when Temple Bar is it’s busiest – but all of this damage must be happeningunder the cover of darkness.
I think the metal is far too soft – it should never have been used underfoot. I always found it decidedly vunerable from the first time I walked on it, even then it was being damaged.
Also… a third of the lights on the Boardwalk needing new bulbs. The lanterns on Grattan Bridge still not connected and a summer passed with no Book Fair. All of the (albeit ugly) lamps on the Wellington Quay side are out… The flagpole all need a paint and some interesting banners. So much for the Quays being the place to be seen!
The hole in the Millennium Bridge was done with a drill, as far as I know. Read fifth paragraph.
Vandalism of cow art on Dublin streets is ‘symptom of wider malaise’
Nuala HaugheyThe Dublin city manager has deplored the vandalism of fibreglass cows which led to their removal from the capital’s streets.
Mr John Fitzgerald said it was disappointing that the 10 cows, which are part of an international art exhibition, could not be left on the streets. Vandals destroyed several of the exhibits.
“It’s a symptom of a wider malaise that needs to be tackled by us as a society by asking ourselves what levels of tolerance do we want and then doing something about it,” he said.
Mr Fitzgerald said acts of vandalism, littering, public drinking and other forms of anti-social behaviour had worsened in the past five years.
In recent days, a vandal bored a small hole in the walkway of the Millennium Bridge, he said.
“The message has to go out that while this kind of behaviour might represent good fun for someone at 3 or 4 o’clock in the morning, it is a problem that costs money and ruins the environment,” he added.
what a determined young vandal he was, to get all his equiptment ready and go out there with his drill to put a hole in the bridge, if he spent as much time at his homework as he did with his drill he’d be a great student altogether!
if people are going to go to those lenghts to wreck something what can we as designers do?
at least the gardai wreck it in full view of everyone.
Ha!
I saw the Grattan Bridge lanterns too Stephen, these have been like this since the spring!
And the flagpoles too are appalling, esp the feckity little lamposts set between every pair along the quays with those awful 80s suburbia heads on them.
I walked along the quays from the civic offices, and was nearly blown over the quay walls about 10 times with the trucks going by – so much for 30mph in built up areas.
Some very fine Georgians along the quays – most surprisingly with original sashes.
An especially fine detached townhouse to the left of the civic offices set back from the quay that I never saw before.
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